Health
New education program focuses on teens with type 2 diabetes
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Dec. 3, 2007
In recognition that the age of onset for type 2 diabetes is declining and an increasing number of adolescents have it, the National Diabetes Education Program last month launched "Tips for Teens with Diabetes." This series of tip sheets and quizzes is meant to help this patient population manage their condition.
The resources cover definitions of the disease, healthy eating, weight management, physical activity and blood glucose control. They are posted online (ndep.nih.gov).
Approximately 154,000 people younger than 20 have diabetes. It's unknown what percentage of those cases are type 2, though it is widely accepted that incidence of the disease is growing in this age group.
NDEP is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The launch coincided with November's National Diabetes Month and World Diabetes Day on Nov. 14. Children and adolescents were the focus of this year's events.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/12/03/hlbf1203.htm.
