United Nations Radio

Diabetes is one of the most chronic, common diseases affecting children--and it's on the rise. November 14th is observed as World Diabetes Day, and this year the focus is on the young. The International Diabetes Federation characterizes the disease as a global epidemic which will affect nearly 400 million people by the year 2025. Professor Martin Silink is the IDF president.

SILINK 1: Diabetes now is increasing at the rate of seven million more each year. It's an incredible hidden epidemic that seems to have slipped in under the radar.

Dianne:Diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, a hormone which enables cells to take glucose from the blood and use it for energy. Failure to produce insulin causes blood glucose levels to rise, which can lead to organ damage or failure. Kayla Thomas is 12 and has been living with diabetes since 2003.

KAYLA 1: When I was first diagnosed, I did not know exactly what diabetes was. All I knew was that I had it, and for me at that time (there) was no way for me to feel anyway but confused. When I got back to school from my 10-day stay at the hospital, I told my friends about me having diabetes and they were also confused.

Dianne: There are two main types of diabetes. Kayla has Type 1, which involves the destruction of cells that produce insulin. Type 1 diabetes mostly affects children and is not preventable. A child with Type 1 diabetes will require insulin--through injections or a pump--for the rest of their life. Kayla explains:

KAYLA 2: I feel very restricted when it comes to managing my daily schedule. Some days I just want to relax, sleep late, eat what I want at any time, and not monitor my blood sugar. And those are the days my mom has to remind me of all the right things to do (to) manage my blood sugars.

Dianne:Type 2 diabetes mostly occurs in adults, but medical authorities say it is growing at an alarming rate in young people. Type 2 diabetes is caused by lifestyle, but can be managed through diet and exercise. The warning signs for diabetes include frequent urination, excessive thirst and increased hunger, says Dr. Jean-Claude Mbanya of the International Diabetes Federation.

MBANYA 1: You start seeing children losing weight. They lack interest and concentration. They have blurred vision, and sometimes these children vomit and have stomach pains, and people think that they have flu. These are all things that would alert the parents to think that the child has diabetes.

Dianne:Dr. Mbanya points out that the cost of keeping diabetes under control can be prohibitive, especially for families in the developing world and in those countries which do not have state-sponsored medical care.

MBANYA 2: And it's not only insulin. There are also testing material like the blood glucose testing, like the syringes. So this is a big burden, a big drain, on the meagre income of people living in developing countries.

Dianne:And while Type 1 diabetes is not preventable, Dr. Mbanya says adults and parents can help ward off Type 2 diabetes in children. His prescription? Get kids moving.

MAIGUA 3: You know, if you look at our children these days, they are obese by the age of 10; so the child who is obese at the age of 10, by the time they reach 18 they already have Type 2 diabetes. We can make our children exercise more; we can make them work harder in order to be able to prevent diabetes--especially Type 2 diabetes.

NARR:Dr. Jean-Claude Mbanya is president-elect of the International Diabetes Federation, which is based in Brussels, Belgium. The IDF estimates that within the next 15 years, 380 million people worldwide will have diabetes.

Producer: Dianne Penn

(duration: 4'11")