Healthy Eating

Summary

The article addresses the relevance of a healthy diet, combined with regular physical exercises, to prove essential for teenagers who are predisposed to type 2diabetes. As a result, a timely community based program, physical exercises as well as parental role in advocating for healthful eatingare assessed. The article aims atassessing parental-perceived barriersto a healthy diet and physical exercises for low income teenagers predisposed to type 2 diabetes. The barriers identified include the adolescent inclination to junk food, accessibility to them, inaccessibility to age-based programs, sedentary lifestyle, having no confidence about exercising among others. These outcomes would prove essential in designing a community based program to deal with the issues.

Analysis

From the article, it is clear that parent perceived barriers greatly influence healthy eating and can be utilized by health educators to design intervention programs for adolescents predisposed to type 2 diabetes. It is arguably evident that the article proposes an effective intervention strategy towards the management of Type 2 diabetes Mellitus.

From the study the level 1 barriers that were pointed out to influence adolescents eating habits include less concern on health, taste and appearance of healthy food, craving and weight issues. Level 2 barriers were identified as easy accessibility to junk foods, inadequate parental concern and family support. Level 3 barriers reported to be accessibility of junk and fast food in learninginstitutions as well as the neighborhood. Type 2 diabetes is also affecting children due to childhood dietary habits and increasing the occurrences of obesity among the global population, amidst the complications associated with the type 2 diabetes mellitus. Community based programs incorporated diabetic patients explaining their experiences and how to determine blood sugars. Healthful diet could also be prepared and given by attendants for them to learn how to prepare it at home. Many adolescents do not engage in exercises since they could not access such programs therefore preferred sedentary activities. They were also not motivated had no confidence, no time and energy or feared being hurt. Besides interpersonal barriers such as inadequate moral support from the family, lacking interested party to exercisewith or one to set the trend, safety issues as well as unfavorable weather; there were some of the hindrances to physical exercising. As a result, the community based program could ensure that these adolescents have acquired free membership to a fitness facility nearby, to eliminate the likelihood of sedentary activities as well as boost their motivation and confidence.

The obesity epidemic in school aged children has proven as a great risk factor of type 2 diabetes. Among the obese adolescents, medical personnel could determine uncontrolled hyperglycemia in these children. It is therefore necessary to determine risk factors to type 2 Diabetes accompanied by obesity. Type 2 diabetes was initially common in adults but it has continued to be diagnosed in adolescents in alarming rates, globally. The area has proved a fresh ground for researchwith the American Diabetes Association maintaining that a child is predisposed to the condition when their BMI is over 85^th percentile, has emerged from ethnic minority background and have a family history of the condition. To effectively handle the condition in adolescents, prevention programs should not only be school based but also community based, so as to ensure positive lifestyle alterations, which is sustainable as well as a reduction in dietary risk factors. However, this has proven to be challenging as a result of diversified needs of the adolescents, which could be personal, behavioral or environmental. Eating habits of the individual are influenced by psychosocial, biological and behavioral factorsor could emerge from external influence as peer, family or community. These are crucial for reinforcing, moral support, modeling as well as apparent values in relation to eating habits. The physical environment also dictates food accessibility in various outlets. The macro-system as well as society factors such as the mass media, production anddistribution, food promotion, food policies andeating norms affect healthy eating.

To deal with the risk factors for type 2 diabetes, the issues of being overweight or obese should be effectively handled. Besides, healthy eating habits and physical activity are among other preventive measures, which can be incorporated at the community level. However, these procedures have to be sustainable thorough making lifestyle changes. Else, the risk factors might reemerge again. Healthy diet enhances weight loss and involves low fat, sugars, carbohydrates or in other words, food with low calorific value. Moreover, a healthy diet should incorporate consumption of water, fruits as well as vegetables, not to mention the mineral supplements. The adolescent, Parents, schools and community have a role to play. Parents should give moral support to the adolescents to embrace lifestyle changes at ease and aavoid rewarding them with food. Schools should not sell unhealthy food in the food joints but should encourage fruits, vegetables and low calorific food.Most importantly, physical activity should be consistent as they help in oxidizing the stored fats to release energy and heat. They may take various forms as jogging, riding bikes, and swimming, taking a flight of stairs instead of escalators and walking to school instead of being driven there. Theses are some of the simple activities that can go a long way in reducing excess weightand therefore, be predisposed to type 2 diabetes.Whenweight lossprograms, healthy eating habits and lifestyle changes are combined, they could prove very effective in reducing the risk factors for type 2 diabetes.