Warning about balanced diet for children at risk of diabetes

Canadian research into diabetes has found that children from food insecure families were more likely to show poor diabetic control, arising from the financial difficulties of managing diabetes, which can also increase the risk of the child being hospitalised from complications associated with the condition.
The study, published in The Journal of Pediatrics, was based on interviews over a 16-month period with 183 families in Canada that had at least one child with diabetes, and called for a greater awareness of the need to maintain the right balance in the diet of diabetic children .
The families filled out a survey that looked into food security, information about income and education, and how they dealt with the financial burden of having a child with diabetes. It was showed that 22 per cent were food insecure, significantly higher than the national average of 9.2 per cent.
Elizabeth Cummings, author of the study, commented “Children from food insecure families had poorer diabetes control and were 3.7 times more likely to require hospitalisation for diabetes within the past year.”
She added “A household is food secure when all members have access to food that is safe and varied enough to meet their nutritional needs. Families who are hungry, who use food banks or food stamps, or those who worry about affording food are considered food insecure.”
In a study last year by the US Department of Agriculture, it was also found that 17.4 million households in the US were finding it difficult to provide enough food due to lack of resources.