Shut the Fridge Door

Dr Bill Nielsen has been practising in Duncan for thirty years

Aconstant thirst for glory and renown marks the noble souls of epic heroes like Achilles and Odysseus, and even, in a way, Captain Kirk. Those adventurers willingly put their bodies at great risk in pursuit of eternal fame. Ironically, young cyberspace warriors, gamers and other screen hounds are also in danger, though they may never leave the comfortable couches in their parents’ homes. Their peril does not arise from the armed cyber foes they magically vanquish or the dubious content of the Internet underworld. These kids are stalked and eventually consumed by a more insidious menace.

Fast is fun, but a need for instant gratification is deadly. Fast food, fast computers and fast delivery all figure in the epidemic of childhood obesity and Diabetes. Once Adolescent Type 2 Diabetes is diagnosed, there’s no going back – the damage is done. Here’s how that all works -

Adolescent Diabetes

Car rides replace exercise when walking would be feasible, if slightly slower. No argument there.

Fast computers and elaborate computer games are highly addictive. The anticipation and flashing payoffs ensnare an adolescent’s neural network with a web woven from that steady drip of dopamine – irresistible to developing brains. Put a humming fridge nearby and you know who will visit it. If there is pop, juice or carbs in the fridge, you also know where they will end up – somebody’s tummy. Minimal nutrition, maximal weight gain.

And while the kids on the couch are on their screens, what are they not doing? There is a definite lack of creative free play, no outdoor adventures, no competitive sports or physical exercise. Children need play desperately, from toes to nose, and lots of friends in the real world, outside of their Internet silos.

According to neuroscientists, brain strain from too much screen time delays release of melatonin. Inactivity thwarts physical fatigue and the resulting restless sleep patterns lead to poorer body and brain function. Active kids get skinny, strong and street smart. Sedentary kids with access to fast food morph into rounder, sadder and less energetic specimens.

We now see the results from a generation of screen soup and take-out suppers - an epidemic of childhood obesity and a 25% increase in Type 2 diabetes. The average age at diagnosis in Canada is 13 years old and closer to 11 years old in First Nations Type 2 Diabetes is especially dangerous in kids, and hard to treat. It comes on silently, and then can suddenly overwhelm the child with blood vessel disease, brain and kidney injury, seizures, coma and even death. Increased birth defects occur in babies born to young women with Type II diabetes.

No child ever suffered from four hours of screen time a week. On the other hand, no child doesn’t suffer (painlessly at first) from four hours of screen time a day. Diet and exercise are even more important to halt the insidious progression to obesity, diabetes, impaired brain growth and vascular disease. These conditions are nearly impossible to reverse. You have to prevent them. Set the right example. Remember, kids never do what you say. They do what you do! So stop the pop and can the empty carbs. Play outside a lot, and limit screen time to at most one hour a day and never before bedtime. Do yourselves and your kids a favour – stay thirsty my friends. And a little bit hungry, too.

Do you have a health question for Dr. Nielsen? Contact him directly at: billnielsen123@ icloud.com

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