April 13, 2001
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Thayer, Iowa, USA:
My five year old son has been on a diet for about nine months, but he continues to gain weight (about 35 pounds in a year and a half). His doctor checked his thyroid gland, which was fine, and they blood tests for diabetes and the fat gene. Is it possible for a child to have all the symptoms of diabetes, but instead of weight loss, weight gain? What is a normal high and low blood sugar? The doctor told me that they don’t like to see the fasting over 100 mg/dl [5.5 mmol/L] for kids, but never mentioned a low. His morning is the one that seems high and it’s not all the time, the rest of the day he seems fine. Is this just the start of diabetes? They tell me he’s in the “gray” area, can you tell me what that is exactly? Does it mean he has it, but it’s not bad enough for insulin yet?
Answer:
There are many conditions that can cause weight gain in children. Diabetes (especially type 2 diabetes) is only one of those possibilities. If your son has high blood sugars, then he indeed may need treatment for diabetes.Your pediatrician will be able to direct you any appropriate testing that might be necessary. Sometimes it is important to watch a child over time and do some repeated tests to determine what could be responsible for the weight gain. Type 2 diabetes can have a slower more insidious onset, and, at times, you may only see high blood sugars on occasion. It is, however, still important to aggressively pursue a diagnosis of your child’s weight gain and hopefully find an acceptable treatment.
MSB
