环球英语 — 62：Diabetes in Children
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Hello. I’m Rachel Hobson.
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And I’m Marina Santee. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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A young girl reaches for a drink. She has had a long day. She opens a can of Coca Cola. She pours the cool black liquid down her throat. Mmmm - the real thing!
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The bright world of advertising! It successfully mixes a dream world with the real one - exciting the mind. Companies spend billions of dollars making advertisements to sell or ‘market’ their products. They use pictures, songs, television, and radio! Good marketing makes the mind connect goodness with its product. The problem is that not all products are good - not all are healthy! Some experts believe that advertisements lead children to choose unhealthy food and drinks. People are concerned about children’s health. Some companies like Coca Cola have taken steps to change their marketing and to support healthier ways of life. But are these changes enough? November the fourteenth is World Diabetes Day. In today’s Spotlight we tell of the experts’ concerns about advertising and children’s health. We tell about the growing problem of diabetes in young people, and what we can do about it.
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“Childhood Obesity: the Unacceptable Price of Successful Marketing.” This is the name of a paper by Kaye Mehta. Kaye Mehta is a food expert from a university in Australia. The Diabetes Foundation published her paper on their website. The paper talks about the increase of fat and sugar in children’s diets. It talks about the increased number of obese children. When someone is obese, they weigh a lot more than they should. Obesity puts the children’s health in danger. They are more likely to develop conditions such as diabetes. Kaye Mehta wrote that marketing is part of the problem.
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‘There is growing concern about links between marketing of food and soft drinks to children - and the global rise in childhood obesity. This is not surprising. Many of the food products and drinks for sale to children are considered unhealthy - high in energy and low in nutrients.’
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Ms Mehta also wrote about ‘product placement’. She wrote that companies ‘place’ products within films and television programmes for children. The companies use games and toys to make children recognise particular products. The children begin to choose those particular companies. And they continue to choose the same companies when they later become adults.
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Obesity in children is a growing problem. It is not just a problem in the West. It is a problem everywhere - in Latin America, Asia, even Africa. Increasing numbers of children are developing the disease diabetes. Ms Mehta says that this will have a negative effect on society in the long term. Obese diabetic children are more likely to develop other conditions when they are older. There will be a rise in health care costs. As adults, they may be unable to work. A decrease in the work force will put pressure on their national economies.
Let us take a closer look at diabetes.
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In a healthy person, the body changes particular foods into a simple sugar - glucose. The glucose moves into the blood. This process causes the pancreas organ to produce insulin. Insulin helps the glucose move from the blood into the body’s cells. The body can then use the glucose for energy, or store it. But what happens if the pancreas does not produce enough insulin? Or what happens if the body’s cells do not use the insulin properly? Then, the result is diabetes.
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Doctors identify two types of diabetes. Type one is when the body’s protection system wrongly attacks the cells that make the insulin. So the pancreas produces little or no insulin. Experts are still learning more about this diabetes - and it is harder to treat. However, it is far less common that type two.
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About ninety percent [90%] of people with diabetes have the type two disease. In type two diabetes, the body does not use insulin correctly. And it does not make enough insulin to deal with this. In most cases type two diabetes is linked to being overweight. Usually, it cannot be cured. People need to take medicine to control it - for the rest of their lives.
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In the past, people considered diabetes type two to be an ‘older person’s’ disease. However, health reports state that the number of young people with diabetes is increasing. The International Diabetes Federation group said that:
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‘The rates of overweight and obese children are particularly worrying... The future does not look good for the next generation. Early deaths and disability will result from too much weight and from diabetes.’
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Health experts have issued many warnings. Yet many parents are still surprised when they discover their children are at risk from diabetes. One mother wrote to a help service:
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‘My husband and I were shocked! Our doctor told us that our little girl is at risk of developing diabetes. I know she is overweight. But she is only thirteen years old. My mother has diabetes type two - but she is in her fifties! Surely our little girl is too young to develop this kind of problem? What can I do to prevent her getting this disease?
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The keys to avoiding obesity and diabetes are diet and exercise. The work begins with the parents. Children learn from example. They need to see their parents exercising daily. And they need to see them eating healthy food - and healthy amounts. Parents need to make sure they are informed so they can choose healthy foods! Then, they can educate their children. They need to make the best food choices. Parents need to encourage children to drink water or fruit juices, not sugary drinks.
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There is also important work for governments and officials. The International Diabetes Federation, IDF, has worked with the World Health Assembly. They advise:
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Healthy diets at an early age.
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Clear food information on products.
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Schools should encourage children to join in sports and physical activity. And that means having safe play areas around the home and school.
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Governments need to carefully consider the effect of marketing on children. They need to ask what effects unhealthy products have on their nations. Are financial gains worth risking the health of future generations?
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Obesity and diabetes are growing problems among the world’s young people. Parents, companies, and governments - all have their part to play in stopping this growth. Then these problems will not steal the future from the next generation.
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