Tips for Teens with Diabetes Are Unveiled to Mark National Diabetes Month

The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) is introducing tip sheets and an online quiz created for teenagers to help them manage their diabetes and reduce their risk for complications associated with their disease. This new Tips for Teens with Diabetes series features topics such as What is Diabetes?,Be Active, Stay at a Healthy Weight, Make Healthy Food Choices, and Dealing with the Ups and Downs of Diabetes. Another tip sheet being offered is Lower Your Risk for Type 2 Diabetes.

The NDEP released this new material to coincide with National Diabetes Awareness month (November) and World Diabetes Day (November 14). The 2007 campaign theme is Diabetes in Children and Adolescents, which raises awareness of the rising prevalence of diabetes among the world's youth.

The teen diabetes tip sheets are available online and can be downloaded in a pdf file (both color and black and white versions available). Each tip sheet is four pages long and is written in a easy to understand manner. Each booklet offers suggestions and ideas on how to teens can pro-actively manage, control, and cope with their disease. For example, in Dealing with the Ups and Downs of Diabetes, issues relating to family, friends, emotions, and goals are discussed. Teens are encouraged to set goals to help them manage their diabetes care. In addition, tips on goal setting are given. The last page of every tip sheet offers additional resources for teens to access including support groups, pen pal sites, and nutritional and fitness support web sites.

The online interactive quiz, which is based upon the Tip for Teens with Diabetes tip sheet series, asks different questions regarding diet, exercise, and factors contributing to diabetes. At the end of the quiz teens are encouraged to read the tip sheets for further information. Teens can also e-mail the quiz to friends and family. A web site banner to promote the teen diabetes quiz can been found on the NDEP web site.

According to the NDEP, 177,000 young adults and kids under the age of 20 have diabetes. Historically, most children and young adults are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. The rise of inactivity and obesity among the younger population has caused a sharp increase in Type 2 diabetes. A fact sheet put out by the NDEP states that prior to 1994 less than five percent of kids were diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. By 2000, this percentage had increased to 50 percent.

Sources:

Diabetes Rates are Increasing Among Youth, National Institutes of Health.

Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents, National Diabetes Education Program.

Tips for Teens with Diabetes, National Diabetes Education Program.