Metabolic Syndrome in Children

Like mother like daughter. Like father like son. We pass along so many traits to our children including morals, values, life lessons, and apparently a tendency towards chronic disease.

Did you know that Metabolic syndrome used to be considered an adult disease?

Don’t know what Metabolic Syndrome is? If you have three or more of these, you’ve got it: elevated triglycerides, elevated blood pressure, gain weight in your abdomen, elevated blood sugar or low levels of healthy cholesterol.

This syndrome is becoming more and more common in our children and it’s time we made a change for our health and theirs.and it is our duty as parents to protect our children. And sometimes that means hard change. This is usually caused in children because of increased consumption of fast foods and sweetened beverages. These tend to be rich in calories and low in nutrients. Top that with a lack of exercise as most children spend a lot of time in front of the computer or video games instead of going out and playing and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Your child’s chances of developing the condition is highest during puberty, as hormones released during this stage can affect blood pressure, lipids and body fat. A family history of metabolic syndrome ups your child’s chances of developing it.

Symptoms include poor kidney function, resistance to insulin hormone, polycystic ovarian syndrome (irregular menstruation), arteriosclerosis (hardening and thickening of the walls of the arteries) and a skin disorder known as acanthosis nigricans. I don’t know about you but this doesn’t sound like the legacy that I want to leave to my children!

If you haven’t had a complete physical for your child and these conditions run in your family or you’ve noticed that your little muffin has a muffin top forming, ask your pediatrician to investigate Metabolic Syndrome. The good news? This condition is effectively treated with the help of lifestyle changes such as regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight and eating healthy food such as a diet rich in fiber and healthy fats full of color variety and quality proteins. Regular monitoring of blood pressure and blood sugar is important in managing metabolic syndrome. Let’s keep our kids off blood pressure medication and start treating the real problem. It’s not their blood pressure. It’s the lifestyle they’ve been allowed to live. I use the word allow because our children are our responsibility. It’s not always popular to begin making change in their health but it’s vital to their long-term success, health, and quality of life.

Think about this: If you’re unhappy with your health, odds are your children will be unhealthy at your age as well. Maybe buying bigger jeans or your doctor’s regular warnings haven’t been enough to motivate you to change your health, but maybe this will. Your kids WILL follow in your steps. They watch. They learn your patterns and behaviors. Do you overeat? Do you snack late at night? Do you eat sweets several times per day (or even per week!)? Your kids will too. If we don’t change our behavior, our kids will go through the same struggle we’re going through right now. Yes, it’s hard. But this is for our children. We can do this!