Have you ever tried to tell a kid not to do something unhealthy - like eat that extra piece of cake or candy - just to be rebuked by a well-meaning adult who tells you, "it's ok! They're just kids!" Is that true? Is it ok for kids to do unhealthy things just because they're kids. In this episode, we explore startling research that shows that many of the diseases we thought only adults get - such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease - are popping up in teenagers and even young children! Chronic disease starts at a young age and here's what we can do to prevent that.

Links

Give kids lifestyle medicine (DrGeorgeCho.com)

Prevalence of prediabetes and its association with clustering cardiometabolic risk factors and hyperinsulinemia among U.S. adolescents: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005 – 2006 (Diabetes Care)

Prevalence of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes among children and adolescents from 2001 to 2009 (JAMA)

Prevalence and extent of atherosclerosis in adolescents and young adults (JAMA)

The Lifestyle Is Medicine podcast is produced by Pathways to Wholeness Lifestyle Medicine in Toronto, Canada. Pathways is a medical centre that promotes wholistic health through lifestyle medicine. Pathways provides compassionate, evidence-based medical care at two clinics in Toronto: the North York Lifestyle Medicine Clinic and Junction Lifestyle Medicine Clinic. Learn more at: www.pathwaystowholeness.ca