Pediatric Obesity and Overweight Treatment In Vijayawada
What are pediatric obesity and insulin resistance?
Insulin resistance is a medical condition in which the body produces insulin but cannot utilize it properly. This pushes the pancreas to produce more insulin to keep up with the body's needs. Eventually, the pancreas cannot keep up with the need for insulin in the body and glucose builds in the blood leading to diabetes.
Obesity is very common in children and more children are being diagnosed with insulin resistance. Approximately 10-15% of children are obese in India and that contributes to setting the stage for type 2 diabetes.
Make an appointment with children obesity doctor in Vijayawada for pediatric obesity treatment.
What are the insulin resistance signs?
Impaired fasting blood sugar or impaired glucose tolerance is one of the prominent signs of insulin resistance. Blood sugar level increases after many failed attempts by the pancreas to meet the insulin need in the body. This leads to diabetes. High blood pressure is a bad symptom of insulin resistance and both are directly proportional.
Abnormal cholesterol levels are yet another sign of insulin resistance. A person with insulin resistance is low on HDL or good cholesterol or high level of triglycerides.
Obesity is a major factor in developing insulin resistance, especially abdominal obesity or belly fat. Obesity encourages insulin resistance and its impact on insulin responsiveness is negative. Weight loss can help in improving the medical condition. Skin tags and dark velvety skin patches called acanthosis nigricans can also be symptoms of insulin resistance.
Causes of insulin resistance
The research about the exact cause of insulin resistance is still going on but till now we’ve got to know that older people are more prone to having this condition. Some of the other factors and causes that may develop insulin resistance are as follows:
- Excess body fat.
- Physical inactivity.
- Unhealthy diet.
- Certain medications may also lead to this condition.
- Cushing’s syndrome.
- Acromegaly.
- Hypothyroidism
- Genetical inheritance.
- Rabson-Mendenhall syndrome.
- Donohue syndrome
- Myotonic dystrophy
- Alstom syndrome
- Werner syndrome
- Inherited lipodystrophy
What are the risk factors that can develop insulin resistance?
There are many lifestyle habits and factors that can be a risk for developing this condition like:
- Overweight
- Age of 45 and above.
- Family history of diabetes.
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol levels
- Sleep apnea
- Smoking
- Alcohol abuse
Some people of the following ethnicity or race can be at a higher risk of developing insulin resistance:
- Asian American
- Latino/Hispanic
- Black
- Natives from Alaska
- Natives from Pacific Islands
- Natives from Continental United States.
How to manage insulin resistance?
In many cases where this condition is caused due to genetical inheritance or age cannot be treated. However, its effect can be minimized by making lifestyle modifications for the rest of your life. These lifestyle changes can not only help to manage this condition but can also prevent any other damage due to this condition. Some of the remedies include:
- Changing your diet to a healthy one.
- Indulging more in physical activities.
- Keeping the body weight in check.
- Fixing the sleep schedule.
What is hyperinsulinemia?
Hyperinsulinemia is not diabetes but is a medical condition in which the amount of insulin in the blood is higher than normal. This condition is often associated with type 2 diabetes and can be caused by insulin resistance. Hyperinsulinemia is a sign of an underlying problem controlling blood sugar that requires your pancreas to secrete large amounts of insulin to keep your blood sugar within a normal range. Hyperinsulinemia may lead to type 2 diabetes if unmonitored and untreated.
To prevent such medical conditions, one must indulge more in physical activities and make some lifestyle changes like eating a healthy diet, avoiding drinking, smoking, etc.
Consult the best pediatrician in vijayawada.