Isles rank high
in obese children
with adult diabetes
A doctor wants to study
By Lori Tighe
afflicted kids in return
for free medical care
Star-BulletinHawaii could have the highest rate of obese children with adult diabetes in the nation, says a Honolulu doctor who is recruiting children to study the problem for free medical care.
Dr. David Fitz-Patrick's clinic was chosen by Bristol-Myers Squibb as one of 25 sites in the country to study the growing problem
"I've practiced in England, Canada and on the East Coast of the mainland and I've never seen more children with adult diabetes in my life as I have in Hawaii," Fitz-Patrick said.
The rising rate of obesity in U.S. children is contributing to the increase in adult diabetes, or type 2. Children were previously thought to be unaffected by the disease. An estimated 123,000 to 2 million American children have adult diabetes, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
"I'm seeing kids who are 50 to 100 pounds overweight," Fitz-Patrick said. "The percentage of overweight school children has doubled in the United States since 1968."
The difference between adult and child diabetes is important because many children have been misdiagnosed and mistreated, Fitz-Patrick said.
Child diabetes, or type 1, happens when the pancreas stops producing insulin. Children are treated with insulin shots.
Adult diabetes occurs when the body resists the effects of insulin, which the pancreas is still producing. Sugar is not absorbed in the cells and builds up in the blood, damaging small blood vessels, which can cause heart, kidney and liver problems, even blindness and premature death, Fitz-Patrick said.
Since many doctors have never encountered adult diabetes in children, they are misdiagnosing them with child diabetes and treating them with insulin shots, which doesn't treat the disease, Fitz-Patrick said.
"The longer you have adult diabetes the greater chance you can be affected by it," he said. "I've seen young adults with eye damage and kidney damage who were misdiagnosed with type 1."
Fitz-Patrick blames lack of exercise, fatty fast food and ethnic origin as the leading culprits to the rise in child obesity.
Today 33 percent of all Americans are considered obese.
"People are actually taking in less food than they did in the early 1900s, by 300 calories. But they are getting much less exercise because of modern conveniences such as cars and elevators. The kind of food they like to eat -- fast food -- is cheap and high in fat."
Hawaiian, Pacific-Islander, Asian and Filipino people also have strong genetic tendencies for adult diabetes, he said.
The warning signs of adult diabetes include frequent urination, unusual thirst, weight gain, extreme tiredness and slow-to-heal cuts and bruises.
Fitz-Patrick is trying to recruit as many overweight children aged 10 to 16 with adult diabetes as he can. They will receive free care during the study, which is expected to last from two to four years.
Half the children will receive an oral drug currently approved for use by adults to determine its safety and effectiveness in children and teens. The other half will receive alternative approved and prescribed drugs. The children will go on a diet and exercise program.
"They'll meet with a dietitian and develop a healthy diet for them. They'll be taught how to exercise, such as going on a walk after school or playing a sport," Fitz-Patrick said.
The nationwide study offers free screening to overweight young people between age 10 to 16, who either have been diagnosed with adult diabetes, or who may have the disease but not know it.
For more information on the free diabetes screening, call 1-888-99-STUDY, (1-888-997-8839). For more information about volunteering for the child study in Hawaii, call Dr. David Fitz-Patrick in Honolulu, 531-6886. About
the study
