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How Much Should a Pre-Diabetic Youth Exercise?

According to Heather M. Ross, MS, APRN, NP, exercise is a vital component in a pre-diabetic child's treatment regimen. Pre-diabetic kids need to set a goal of at least 60 minutes of daily activity. Experts suggest that the best activities are enjoyable ones that encourage long-term adherence to the program (for example: sports, walking tours of new neighborhoods or even using a trampoline). Tiny workout sessions are great; a few 5- to10-minute workouts per day add up quickly to the 60-minute goal.

  1. Definition of Pre-Diabetic

    • According to the Mayo Clinic dictionary, pre-diabetes is "a condition in which your blood sugar level is higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as type 2 diabetes."

    Significance

    • The American Diabetes Association notes that pre-diabetics are likely to develop diabetes--and there's a good chance that they're already showing some of the disease's debilitating symptoms.

    Identification

    • Pre-diabetes is a simplified name for a state of elevated blood glucose levels; depending on the test that detected the imbalance, doctors refer to pre-diabetes as Impaired Glucose Tolerance or Impaired Fasting Glucose (IGT/IFG).

    Considerations

    • If a doctor has diagnosed a child as pre-diabetic, the child should be tested for type 2 diabetes every year following the original diagnosis.

    Warning

    • Children diagnosed with pre-diabetes are at 150 percent higher risk of cardiovascular disease than their peers with normal blood glucose.

    Expert Insight

    • The American Diabetic Association has determined that even modest weight loss (just 5 to 10 percent of total body weight) goes a long way towards treating pre-diabetes.

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