IN THE morning between the hours of six to seven, one could only spot a busy road as pupils and students walked hurriedly to school to avoid being late.
Around this same time, confectionaries shops along the road to schools are opened busily cashing in as pupils stopped by to buy biscuits, flavored paper drinks, and toffees, for snack break which is usually after lunch in school.
Others who have not had breakfast at home also stopped by the food joints to buy pasta and waakye (beans mixed with rice) served with stew and hot pepper (shito) to satisfy their morning hunger.
Not even a fruit seller is spotted along the road during this time and the children have become so used to drinks and business every day.
Maame Serwa, a brilliant class six pupil, is always seen eating sweetened cake with high sugar flavored drink every morning before class begins while she keeps sugary stuff also in her bag for snacks.
Although almost all of the kids have sweets for snack breaks, with only a few eating fruits as their snack, Mame Serwa’s habitual intake of sweets every morning and afternoon became a concern to her mates, they advised her several times to quit eating sugar, but she turned a deaf ear. When Auntie Sarah noticed that her daughter’s frequent urination at night was getting worse, she took her to the hospital where Maame Serwa was diagnosed with Type II diabetes.
The doctor explained to Serwa’s mum that her daughter would have to be on medication to manage the condition and encouraged her to eat healthy foods, exercise regularly, and maintain a healthy weight.
This affected her studies as she became less active in class, her classmates were, however, supportive to help her through her condition.
Type II diabetes, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces.
Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood glucose.
Symptoms of type II diabetes may include, increased thirst, frequent urination, increased hunger, fatigue, blurry vision, darkened areas of skin, most often around the neck or in the armpits and groin, unintended weight loss, and frequent infections.
Type II diabetes among children may be due to being overweight, which is considered a strong risk factor, poor diet, and a sedentary lifestyle.
The condition among children could also be attributed to family history, race or ethnicity, age and sex, maternal gestational diabetes, low birth weight or preterm birth.
A healthy diet, weight loss, regular exercise, and good hygiene, Insulin replacement therapy, regular checking of blood sugar levels, and oral medication are the treatment for the condition.
Treatment includes encouraging children with the condition to eat healthy foods, get plenty of physical activity and maintain a healthy weight.
Maame Serwa said she gets tired very often and is not able to participate in class activities due to pains in her body.
Not happy with the condition and the pain she goes through, Maame Serwa has vowed to heed to any advice and maintain a healthy body weight so she could reverse the condition hopefully.
Dr. Betty Bankah, a Family Physician at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, expressed worry that a lot of children were being affected with type two diabetes due to lifestyle.
She noted that Ghanaians have moved away from the local foods and now eating a lot of processed foods, saturated fats, and meats without exercising.
She said: “We are having a lot of development of type two diabetes among children and teenagers due to lifestyle, a lot of children have become very obese because they are eating all the oily foods and carbohydrates and eventually putting on weight.”
“Unfortunately, in Ghana, when your child is big, then it shows a sign of wealth. Parents must be able to provide appropriate diet for the family and teach the children the right way to go and make sure the children are healthy,” she stressed.
She said: “We sit in front of the Television (TV), without moving around, we sit in our cars to work and come back home to the same routine. Kids are not allowed to go out and play outside but are given phones and tablets to play. All these are contributory factors to the disease.”
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) recorded over 96,000 NCD-related deaths in the year 2020.
Dr Afua Commeh, Acting Programme Manager, Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD), Ghana Health Service, also expressed concern about the increasing cases of NCDs in the country.
BY Muniratu Akweley Issah