Health Issues

Kids with an adult disease

Sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets have created what some doctors are calling an epidemic: the emergence of type 2 diabetes in children as young as eight. Type 2 diabetes, also called adult-onset diabetes, is a disease formerly only seen in the middle-aged.

The cause? Obesity, experts say. They warn that this is the first generation of children who may die younger than their parents because of the type 2 epidemic. Pediatricians urge kids to stop indulging in sugar-loaded, high-fat diets and reduce time spent watching TV or playing video games. Parents also need to set an example by limiting their own time spent snacking on junk food in front of the TV.

Not so sweet

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning Canadians not to consume various brands of imported honey as they may pose a human health risk (For a list of products to avoid, visit the Health Canada website at www.hc-sc.gc.ca.)

These products may contain nitrofurans, antimicrobial drugs that are banned for use in Canada in food-producing animals, including honeybees. The possibility of a human health risk is related to the inherent toxicity of the drug and the potential to cause allergies. To date, there have been no reported illnesses.

CFIA is working with manufacturers to pull these items off store shelves. If you have already consumed some of the product, Health Canada advises no further action need be taken as the health risk is low. Any remaining honey should not be eaten but returned to the store or disposed of.

Kids abusing OTCs

Too many children are using over-the-counter headache medicines without telling their parents-and without understanding how dangerous the drugs can be when taken in large doses.

According to what one US doctor has seen in his private practice, large numbers of children are using these medications five or six times per week-some take 15 to 20 doses per week. Dr. David Rothner and colleagues treated 680 children between the ages of six and 18 for headaches. More than 20 percent overused over-the-counter painkillers. Chronic daily headaches increase as kids get older and, by age 15, approximately 15 percent suffer from them. Some kids are predisposed to headaches; stress may increase this disposition. Most of the children in the study named school as their main stressor.