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Diabetes in Children
儿童糖尿病
Hello. I'm Rachel Hobson.
AndI'm Marina Santee. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special Englishmethod of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter wherein the world they live.
Ayoung girl reaches for a drink. She has had a long day. She opens a can of CocaCola. She pours the cool black liquid down her throat. Mmmm - the real thing!
Thebright world of advertising! It successfully mixes a dream world with the realone - exciting the mind. Companies spend of dollars makingadvertisements to sell or ‘market' their products. They use pictures, songs, television, andradio! Good marketing makes the mind connect goodness with its product. Theproblem is that not all products are good - not all are healthy! Some expertsbelieve that advertisements lead children to choose unhealthy food and drinks.People are concerned about children's health. Some companies like Coca Cola havetaken steps to change their marketing and to support healthier ways of life.But are these changes enough? November the fourteenth is World Diabetes Day. Intoday's Spotlight we tell of the experts' concerns about advertising andchildren's health. We tell about the growing problem of diabetes in youngpeople, and what we can do about it.
"Childhood Obesity: the Unacceptable Price of Successful Marketing."This is the name of a paper by Kaye Mehta. Kaye Mehta is a food expert from auniversity in Australia. The Diabetes Foundation published her paper on theirwebsite. The paper talks about the increase of fat and sugar in children's diets.It talks about the increased number of obese children. When someone is obese,they weigh a lot more than they should. Obesity puts the children's health indanger. They are more likely to develop conditions such as diabetes. Kaye Mehtawrote that marketing is part of the problem.
"There is growing concern about links between marketing of food and softdrinks to children - and the global rise in childhood obesity. This is notsurprising. Many of the food products and drinks for sale to children areconsidered unhealthy - high in energy and low in nutrients."
MsMehta also wrote about 'product placement'. She wrote that companies 'place'products within films and television programmes for children. The companies usegames and toys to make children recognise particular products. The childrenbegin to choose those particular companies. And they continue to choose thesame companies when they later become adults.
Obesity in children is a growing problem. It is not just a problem in the West.It is a problem everywhere - in Latin America, Asia, even Africa. Increasingnumbers of children are developing the disease diabetes. Ms Mehta says thatthis will have a negative effect on society in the long term. Obese diabeticchildren are more likely to develop other conditions when they are older. Therewill be a rise in health care costs. As adults, they may be unable to work. Adecrease in the work force will put pressure on their national economies.
Let us take a closer look at diabetes.
In ahealthy person, the body changes particular foods into a simple sugar -glucose. The glucose moves into the blood. This process causes the pancreasorgan to produce insulin. Insulin helps the glucose move from the blood intothe body's cells. The body can then use the glucose for energy, or store it.But what happens if the pancreas does not produce enough insulin? Or whathappens if the body's cells do not use the insulin properly? Then, the resultis diabetes.
Doctorsidentify two types of diabetes. Type one is when the body's protection systemwrongly attacks the cells that make the insulin. So the pancreas produceslittle or no insulin. Experts are still learning more about this diabetes - andit is harder to treat. However, it is far less common that type two.
About ninety percent of people with diabetes have the type two disease. In typetwo diabetes, the body does not use insulin correctly. And it does not makeenough insulin to deal with this. In most cases type two diabetes is linked tobeing overweight. Usually, it cannot be cured. People need to take medicine tocontrol it - for the rest of their lives.
Inthe past, people considered diabetes type two to be an 'older person's'disease. However, health reports state that the number of young people withdiabetes is increasing. The International Diabetes Federation group said that:
"The rates of overweight and obese children are particularly worrying...The future does not look good for the next generation. Early deaths anddisability will result from too much weight and from diabetes."
Health experts have issued many warnings. Yet many parents are still surprisedwhen they discover their children are at risk from diabetes. One mother wroteto a help service:
"My husband and I were shocked! Our doctor told us that our little girl isat risk of developing diabetes. I know she is overweight. But she is onlythirteen years old. My mother has diabetes type two - but she is in herfifties! Surely our little girl is too young to develop this kind of problem?What can I do to prevent her getting this disease?"
Thekeys to avoiding obesity and diabetes are diet and exercise. The work beginswith the parents. Children learn from example. They need to see their parentsexercising daily. And they need to see them eating healthy food - and healthyamounts. Parents need to make sure they are informed so they can choose healthyfoods! Then, they can educate their children. They need to make the best foodchoices. Parents need to encourage children to drink water or fruit juices, notsugary drinks.
There is also important work for governments and officials. The InternationalDiabetes Federation, IDF, has worked with the World Health Assembly. Theyadvise:
Healthy diets at an early age.
Clear food information on products.
Schools should encourage children to join in sports and physical activity. Andthat means having safe play areas around the home and school.
Governments need to carefully consider the effect of marketing on children.They need to ask what effects unhealthy products have on their nations. Arefinancial gains worth risking the health of future generations?
Obesity and diabetes are growing problems among the world's young people.Parents, companies, and governments - all have their part to play in stoppingthis growth. Then these problems will not steal the future from the nextgeneration.
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