Dealing with Childhood Diabetes

Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the United States across the past three decades. And if we as a society aim to bring this epidemic to a halt, everyone – including parents, teachers, doctors, and policy-makers – must realize that the risk of developing childhood diabetes is linked to not only what they eat, but where they live.

In other words, the characteristics of a child’s neighborhood – its walkability, proximity to parks, and access to healthy food – can be huge contributing factors to the development of obesity and diabetes.

Recent research confirms this, finding that children in a “favorable neighborhood environment” have close to 60 percent lower odds in being obese. And childhood obesity, as we all know, can contribute to diabetes.

Another study, for example, found that children who lived in rural areas got the appropriate amount of exercise; meanwhile, those in suburban or urban environments spent most of their time on buses or in cars shuttling from place to place.

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