Identifying Children at Risk for Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease
- Pedro Velasquez-Mieyer, MD,
- Sylvia Perez-Faustinelli, MD and
- Patricia A. Cowan, RN, PhD, HFI
Abstract
In Brief Critical periods for the development of childhood obesity have been established. Health care providers should recognize these periods for initiation of interventions to prevent obesity because treatment options once obesity occurs are limited. Greater body weight predisposes children to many of the medical complications of obesity found in adults, including hypertension, dyslipidemia, impaired glucose metabolism, and hyperinsulinemia. Race, genetic predisposition, sedentary lifestyle, duration of overweight, and underlying conditions are major determinants of risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, not all adolescents with these characteristics share a similar risk for developing these conditions. The appropriate risk stratification for adolescents could guide clinicians in recognizing overweight youth who are at higher risk of developing pre-diabetes, diabetes, or CVD and lead to a prompt intervention.
Footnotes
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Pedro Velasquez-Mieyer, MD, is a faculty member in the epidemiology program of the College of Graduate Health Sciences and an assistant professor in the College of Nursing and in the Pediatrics Department, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, of the College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) in Memphis. Sylvia Perez-Faustinelli, MD, is a research associate in the Pediatrics Department, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, of the College of Medicine at UTHSC. Patricia A. Cowan RN, PhD, HFI, is an assistant professor in the College of Nursing at UTHSC.
- American Diabetes Association
