The disordered eatingis the main factor in the diagnosis of diabetes in children and adolescents, who, as adults, could suffer the consequences of reaching the chronic or severe state of this condition.
Dr. Inoelva Espinal, vice president of the Dominican Society of Endocrinology y Northern filial nutritionexplained to Daily List that the eating disorder that exists in the country is leading people to develop chronic diseases faster.
“Dominicans have poor nutritional education and this is leading to more and more sick children, because there is no guidance on what foods to eat and what not to eat, and above all, what to give the children,” said the endocrinology specialist.
Dr. Espinal urged parents of children and adolescents to choose to offer them healthy meals and avoid excess sugarsfats and cjunk foodwhich lead children and adolescents to live in obesity and get sick.
“They should give healthy food to the boys, not so much garbage that they buy them. They don’t have to wait for the children to get sick, they are responsible for giving them healthy food,” he established.
school breakfast and lunch
Likewise, the doctor Dennys Guillénpediatric endocrinologist and member of the Diabetes Department at the Dr. Arturo Grullón Regional Children’s Hospital, pointed out that the school breakfast and lunch, as another of the factors incident to obesity and diabetes in children and adolescents.
“School breakfast is formulated for low-income children who do not have adequate nutrition, who have a calorie deficit, and that is not the case in our country,” said Guillén. “If you read the milk boxes, they have a lot of sugars and carbohydrates.”
school cafeterias
Pedro Pablo Marte, director of Regional 08 of Santiago of the Ministry of Education (Minerd), indicated that continuous surveys are carried out in schools and school districts through the health department, to monitor the conditions of the students.
It established that, with the increase in these health conditions, at a given time, from the Regional and the districts in conjunction with the educational centers, the sweet liquids that were in the school cafeteriasto prevent the boys from “continuing taking obesity and diabetes.”
“In the case of Santiago, we are tough on the cafeterias, so that what they sell are not things loaded with sugar and that they do not sell things that are not their responsibility to sell,” said Marte.
The regional director also pointed out that they have managed to dismantle cafeterias that did not correspond to the product sales agreements accepted by the existing regulations, which are managed by the INABA.
Marte assured that more than 5 large schools in Santiago, which operate on an extended day, had their cafeterias dismantled and eliminated.
incidence
According to data from the National Health Service Health Repository (SNS), during the year 2025, 14,467 cases of diabetes mellitus were received in outpatient consultations, which represented 8.79% of outpatient consultations.
While 13,567 cases of diabetes were received in emergencies, in addition to 1,096 in hospitalization.
So far this year, diagnoses of type 2 and type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents in Santiago and the Cibao region continue to increase significantly.
Only at the Regional University Children’s Hospital Doctor Arturo Grullon From this city, up to approximately 100 patients between 4 and 17 years old are received in a month.
