Diabetes Prevention: Don't Ignore the Children!
Joanna Strober
CEO/ Founder of Midi Health, revolutionizing healthcare for women at midlife - to relieve their symptoms and support their wellbeing.
A week ago, the Obama administration announced that it was going to expand Medicare to cover programs to prevent Type 2 Diabetes among people at high risk of developing the disease. With over 29.1 million Americans, or about 9.3% of the population, diagnosed with diabetes, and 86 million Americans age 20 and older with prediabetes, it is no wonder so many people are applauding this proposal. If we look at numbers alone, it has the potential to improve the lives of a large portion of the population.
However, although this is a very commendable action by the federal government, it in no way solves the Type 2 Diabetes epidemic at-large. How could it? It overlooks a significant subset of the pre-diabetic population --children and adolescents. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Diabetes Prevention Recognition Program, the first stipulation on its list of eligibility requirements is that all diabetes prevention program participants must be 18 years of age or older. While age limits on certain activities and programs usually make sense, I think this one needs more explanation.
According to the 2014 CDC Diabetes Report Card, almost 24% of all children in the United States have pre-diabetes. This number is increasing rapidly as a result of increased obesity rates and lack of physical activity among children. If incidence rates stay the same, the number of youth with Type 2 Diabetes in the U.S. is expected to increase by 49% in the next 40 years. If incidence rates increase, the number of youth with Type 2 diabetes could quadruple.
Those number have big consequences. Type 2 Diabetes can lead to other complications, such as hypertension, heart attacks, stroke, blindness or vision problems, and fatty liver disease. As kids age, having diabetes negatively affects their productivity, quality of life, life expectancy and health care costs. As of 2013, the total cost of diagnosed diabetes in the U.S. was $245 billion.
Add to that the psychological trauma. Kids who are overweight are ostracized at school. They get bullied. They lose confidence. They are discriminated against by peers and teachers. And according to a 2014 study , obese children will most likely “enter adulthood with several years of disease duration, difficulty in treatment, an increased risk of early complications, and increased frequency of diabetes during reproductive years, which may further increase diabetes in the next generation.”
Fortunately, there is a bright side--these issues are preventable. Even kids who have been labeled pre-diabetic by their doctors can prevent the onset of Type 2 Diabetes. But, it is important to note that prevention and teaching of healthy habits must start with kids. Their state of health will determine how efficient our health care system will be in the future. Negative health trends among these young American demographic groups carry ominous future burdens on our medical system. Investing in preventative care for children and youth is an investment with a very high return for the entire society. If we can prevent our kids from becoming pre-diabetic and diabetic adults, then why wouldn’t we?
By creating an accessible and affordable mobile solution to help curb the obesity epidemic, Kurbo Health is effectively decreasing one of the major risk factors for pre-diabetes and diabetes. Its health coaching services teach kids best practices for eating healthy and exercising regularly--lessons that can help them grow into healthy adults. But health coaching companies like Kurbo Health can’t work in solitude. In order to see the health of youth nationwide improve, we need the support of doctors, healthcare professionals, parents, the community and government. We need to advocate for our children!
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Joanna Strober is the CEO and Co-Founder of Kurbo Health, a mobile platform to fight childhood obesity. Kurbo is working with employers, insurance companies, Medicaid providers and other constituents to change health outcomes for children nationwide by helping them to modify their behaviors and lead healthier lives.
Healthcare Executive Driving Impactful Digital Health Growth | Startup Advisor | Wake Surfing Enthusiast
8 年Good post and we also need to keep in mind there is a huge opportunity in the pre-Medicare adult population as well! I would suggest that Medicare coverage is a huge step towards widely available and covered diabetes prevention that starts in Medicare but quickly moves to other government sponsored programs and private insurers (many of whom are already covering or considering covering these prevention programs). The significant cost savings and value shown in the Medicare population combined with commercial results that many providers are achieving make a strong case for widespread coverage.
Imagining what health care could be
8 年Joanna Strober: great post. Hopefully what has happened before will happen in this case ... Medicare will cover the service and Medicaid, then private insurers, will follow suit. I am optimistic that this will start a nice chain reaction!
International Speaker & Consultant | Empowering Organizations & Leaders to Thrive with Science-Backed Performance & Wellbeing Solutions
8 年You are right to point out the short-sighted approach to diabetes prevention in the exclusion of government supported programs for children. Most of these programs, although prevention focused, also primarily focus on eating and physical activity behaviors without addressing the mindset, attitudes, and beliefs that lead to the behaviors. Kids who are at high risk of diabetes are likely to be children of adults who are also at risk or already diabetic due to unhealthy behaviors that stem from unhealthy thinking. These programs should include interventions that help the entire family rethink how they think about health, wellness, and life that will readily support healthy behaviors. There is still a long ways to go. You have a brilliant offering that can be a part of a much needed new approach. Thanks!