Children will be children, of course, and they can make poor health choices by eating the wrong foods. But isn't it really up to families to encourage and incorporate a healthy lifestyle at home? And when they don't, children are more likely to fall prey to health problems and are more prone to diabetes.



At the end of the day, everyone in the family needs to pull together as one team on the same side -- the side that keeps illnesses like diabetes and other unhealthy issues at bay.

Most people groan and moan at the thought of healthy living. But it doesn't have to be such a grind. Physical exercise can be fun when done together as a group. Family members can take turns in coming up with new and interesting, but healthy recipes to cook every day. Slowly but surely, the benefits of healthy living will rub off on everyone.

This is an important issue to discuss with the entire family.

Having diabetes as a child is difficult, along with often painful treatment, there is often a sense of deprivation and "not being like the other kids." A new study has found that children may lose up to an hour a day because of their diabetes.

Diabetic children spend up to an hour a day managing their condition, adversely affecting their attitudes towards treatment, new Australian research shows. A study by University of Adelaide researchers tracked 160 children with chronic illnesses over two years to find out how much time it takes to do their daily treatment tasks.

The results, published in the latest Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health, show children with cystic fibrosis, an incurable genetic disease, spend 57-74 minutes a day on treatments like physiotherapy.

Therapies for type 1 diabetes - including daily glucose testing, insulin injections and dietary changes - took 28-58 minutes out of each child's day.

Also, even to kids without diabetes, spending more time in front of the TV makes them sedentary, increasing their risk of becoming obese.

How much more if your child has type1 diabetes? More TV time will do no good in controlling their blood sugar levels.

As confirmed by a Norwegian study:

...diabetic children who spend a great deal of time watching television had a tougher time controlling their blood sugar.

... encouraging children with Type-1 diabetes to watch less television may play an crucial role for improving blood sugar control and better health overall.

Kids should really have more active time and even adults too for that matter. But I understand how difficult this is to accomplish sometimes, especially when TV time is the easiest "baby-sitter' to young kids in this day and age of computers and playstations.

However, as parents we should encourage our kids to have a more active lifestyle, with or without diabetes.