Diabetes Prevention in Infants

There are two main forms of diabetes. Type 1 diabetics have an immune system disorder, in which their body attacks the cells required to create insulin. In type 2 diabetes, beta cells produce insulin, but the insulin is either not sufficient enough for your body or your body cannot properly process the insulin. Genetic preconditions put infants at a higher risk for type 1 diabetes. An unhealthy lifestyle and genetic factors contribute to developing type 2 diabetes. Although there are no proven methods to prevent type 1 diabetes in infants, new research offers some hope for both types.

Healthy Lifestyle and Type 2 Diabetes

• Since obesity and poor diet contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes, children must exercise and eat healthily from a young age. Although an infant cannot exercise on her own and requires a certain diet to grow, follow her doctor's advice to maintain a healthy balance between nutrition and fat content. When your infant begins to walk, take her for a short walk around the block to develop good habits. Swimming with your infant is another way to introduce exercise at an early age and help to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes. As your infant grows, create a healthy home environment so she will learn a lifestyle that may help to prevent type 2 diabetes.

Omega 3s and Type 1 Diabetes

• According to a September 2007 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, a link may exist between omega-3 fatty acid consumption and an infant's risk of developing type 1 diabetes. In this initial study, women in coastal areas who ate lots of fish high in omega-3s had children with lower rates of type 1 diabetes. Now, scientists and doctors have begun to conduct more widespread research to see if omega-3s and other fatty acids will help lower an infant's chance of developing diabetes.

  In the research trials, doctors give young infants or third-trimester mothers pills that contain omega-3s. Doctors will continue to observe the infants to see if the increase in omega-3s helps to ward off type 1 diabetes. The initial studies, which began in 2007 and 2008, are expected to take four years to complete. Since increased omega-3 consumption is still in the research phase, pregnant women should consult their doctors before taking any omega-3 supplements or increasing omega-3 intake through diet.

The TRIGR Study

• The TRIGR (Trial to Reduce Diabetes in the Genetically At-Risk) study investigates the role of a baby's ingestion of cow's milk protein and the development of type 1 diabetes. The TRIGR study involves various clinics and centers around the world, such as the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. The TRIGR study's hypothesis theorizes that a baby with a higher genetic diabetes risk has a less-developed immune system and cannot properly process the introduction of foreign proteins (through cow's milk). Scientists involved with the TRIGR study hypothesize that cow's milk may harm or even destroy insulin-producing cells, thus leading to type 1 diabetes.

  During the TRIGR test, mothers from around the world breast-feed their children for the first six months of life without supplementing the breast milk with cow's milk. Since the TRIGR test monitors children up to the age of 10, results are still inconclusive. If the TRIGR test shows a statistical decline in at-risk babies' development of type 1 diabetes, doctors will gain a critical tool to help minimize the development of type 1 diabetes in infants. Because this is an ongoing trial, mothers are not advised to eliminate the use of cow's milk in babies at this time.

  The last admitted member to the TRIGR started the study in 2007. Final results of the study are expected by 2017.