Getting American Families Moving
I want to thank First Lady Michelle Obama for her efforts to get American families moving. The First Lady recently launched the Let’s Move campaign to address the alarming rates of childhood obesity in this country. Imagine for a minute that this generation of young people could be the first to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Obesity is responsible for countless health risk factors including the skyrocketing rise of Type 2 Diabetes in children and adolescents.
As Oprah’s recent show demonstrated, understanding the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 is difficult. To understand why it is so horrifying for children and adolescences to develop Type 2 Diabetes, you must comprehend the difference.
For the record, Type 1 Diabetes or Juvenile Diabetes as it is commonly referred to is an autoimmune disease and is treated with insulin. Type 1 Diabetes cannot be prevented by changes in lifestyle or diet. There is NO cure for Type 1 Diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes is often called adult-onset Diabetes because historically it was diagnosed later in life and is often the result of poor diet and excess weight. Type 2 Diabetes can often be managed by making dramatic lifestyle changes including diet and exercise. In both cases, Diabetes can cause the same serious long-term health problems such as heart disease, kidney failure nerve damage, blindness and neuropathy to name the more serious complications associated with the disease.
As the parent of a Type 1 Diabetic, you may be wondering why I am committed to supporting the Let’s Move Campaign. To manage my daughter’s disease, she exercises nearly every day. Our family does not need the gentle push of a public education initiative or a more direct nudge through the Fist Lady’s bully pulpit to keep moving. My motivation to engage in this public awareness and advocacy effort is not a result of my direct self-interest. Michelle Obama’s leadership inspires me because I desperately want to help other families avoid a fate that my family could not avoid.
It makes me shudder to think about the lives of these young Type 2 Diabetics. Children who are my daughter’s age and are facing a lifetime full of health complications, doctor’s visits and battles with food. In every case, this life sentence was preventable. I am on board and ready to MOVE!
Tags: diabetes, letsmove, michelleobama, obama, oprah, Shaheen, stefanyshaheen, type2, typeone, typetwo
My son was diagnosed nearly three years ago at the age of 6, on Halloween no less (before the trick-or-treat, thank goodness!). Exercise has been integral to the management of his diabetes (only one A1C above 7!): He has a sport for every season and we stay very active as a family. In fact, after his diagnosis I went back to competitive road racing after a many year hiatus to reinforce the fact that exercise is JUST PLAIN GOOD FOR YOU. I am hopeful that the Let’s Move Campaign will help to inspire this sentiment in families everywhere. Regardless of a chronic disease, we all need to be more active, not just for ourselves as adults, but to be better role models for our children.
I could not agree with you more, Carole! Thank you for sharing your inspirational story about the importance of exercise.
My daughter is a dancer and enjoys classes several days a week. She also swims. Ironically, we had a bounce house in our back yard this weekend for a family birthday party and I could not get over how dramatically it impacted her blood sugars. We ended up pulling back on her insulin due to the physical act of jumping around in a bounce house in warmer weather.
Here’s to spring!