Children and Adolescents with Weight Imbalance or Metabolic Syndrome

It is important to address risk factors in childhood to prevent adult diseases such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and infertility. Most often weight gain and increases in BMI during the growth spurt are normal. However, the increasing epidemic of insulin resistance and obesity in children should not be ignored.
We screen children between the ages of 8 to 17 for proper growth and development, insulin and glucose balance, cholesterol and blood pressure status, fitness, and nutrition. Children with insulin resistance are often at risk for metabolic syndrome and a variety of risk factors, including elevated blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and insulin resistance, or prediabetes. Certain glucose imbalances related to metabolic dysfunction can mimic anxiety and attention deficit disorder.
Parental education is an important component of our treatment plan for children and adolescent patients. Children become informed and empowered to take an active role in their own health program.