Sleep Deprivation is a New Risk Factor for Diabetes

During a CBS 60 Minutes® report entitled The Science of Sleep, research endocrinologist Dr. Eve Van Cauter of the University of Chicago Medical Center said, "Sleep deprivation is a new risk factor for diabetes. We have an epidemic of diabetes and Type 2 diabetes is now occurring in children and in adolescents.

And you know, adolescents and children are sleep deprived. High schoolers are among the most sleep-deprived individuals in our society, because they have enormous sleep need - nine to ten hours. Yet they sleep less than seven hours per night."

Children Getting Diabetes Complications Earlier

A study published last year in the medical journal called The Lancet confirmed that children with type 2 diabetes are developing further health problems at early ages.  According to the study, many kids already have some of the hallmark side effects of diabetes such as high blood pressure, kidney problems, or early eye damage when they are first diagnosed with the diabetes.
Dr,Julie K. Silver, M.D., Harvard Medical School has some great advice on what a parent can do.

Get Diabetes in Check BEFORE Getting Pregnant

According to U.S.News and World Report, having poorly controlled diabetes while pregnant can cause all sorts of harm, from stillbirths and miscarriages to birth defects. So experts are concerned that the number of women who already have diabetes by the time they conceive is rising rapidly: Between 1999 and 2005, the group doubled in size, growing significantly across all age, racial, and ethnic groups.

First Consumer Test to Evaluate Diabetes Risk Coming Soon

The first  FDA approved consumer test to evaluate diabetes risk will be marketed exclusively in the United States by Glycemion, Inc. The BIOSAFE Diabetes Risk Assessment is a two-part process comprised of an immediate fasting glucose reading and a mail-in laboratory analysis for hemoglobin A1c, a blood glucose marker for the previous ninety-day period. More......