September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, a time to think about the fact that one in three children in the United States is overweight or obese. Childhood obesity puts kids at risk for health problems, including type 2 diabetes.
Pediatric endocrinologist Sonia Caprio, MD, recalls a time when obesity was so rare in children that they didn’t get type 2 diabetes, which was referred to as “adult onset diabetes.” Today, because childhood obesity has escalated, type 2 diabetes in children is on the rise. “Diabetes is coming on board at least two decades earlier than what we saw in the past,” said Dr. Caprio.
Along with other Yale researchers, Dr. Caprio is conducting research to understand and treat childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes. She worked with registered dietician Mary Savoye on a study to develop Bright Bodies, a weight management program for children that uses education, exercise and lifestyle modification. Bright Bodies has helped children lose weight, which in some cases has eliminated the need to take medication to control their diabetes. Today, hundreds of children are enrolled in the program.
Yale in one of just three sites in the country to participate in the Restoring Insulin Secretion (RISE) study for adolescents with pre- and early type 2 diabetes. RISE involves testing a new approach to prevent full blown diabetes by comparing insulin followed by metformin – the medicine most commonly used to treat Type 2 diabetes - to metformin by itself. Dr. Caprio and her colleagues are also conducting a study on the effect of glucose and fructose (found in sugary drinks and foods) on the brains of adolescents, who are the major consumers of soda in the U.S.
Diabetes is coming on board at least two decades earlier than what we saw in the past.
Dr. Sonia Caprio
Together with Dr. Nicola Santoro, she is also studying the effect of changes in the diet on fatty liver disease, which is a common disorder in obese children and a precursor to diabetes. Participants are provided with a diet high in omega fatty acids to test whether this will reduce fat content in the liver.
For more information on studies on childhood obesity, contact Dr. Santoro at nicola.santoro@yale.edu.
For more information on Bright Bodies, visit www.brightbodies.org/.