coimbatore kushboo v a class 12 student of a city school became diabetic when she was just 9 years old her craving for soft drinks doctors told her was the main cause for her health condition kushboo is not an exception according to doctors the number of children diagnosed as diabetic in the city is fast rising november 14 is not only childrens day but also world diabetes day and according to doctors a number of children with diabetics are reported from the city dr v sekar chief consultant at the coimbatore diabetes foundation says every month they get around 10 to 15 fresh cases of diabetic children below 15 years recently we even received the case of a oneandhalf yearold baby boy with diabetes his parents would always give him soft drinks and here he was he says too much fast food and soft drinks to a sedentary life style doctors say that there are several reasons for the surge in the number of cases experts say that the worrying trend is when earlier diabetic children had diabetes type i now many are coming with type ii while the exact reason of diabetes type i is unknown and cannot be prevented type ii is preventable excess of cholesterolrich food sweets and a sedentary lifestyle with little exercise are the reasons commonly attributed for diabetes diabetes can later lead to serious health condition says dr v mohan a senior diabetologist most of them develop serious complications in their kidneys liver or heart within 10 to 15 years when a 60yearold is affected he or she develops these problems only at 70 but when one is affected at the age of 15 chances are they may get serious complications at around 30 he says the cost is not just to the patient or his family an unhealthy youth population affects the productivity of the national economy the way to overcome diabetes type 2 is to control the diet and exercise regularly dr meenakumari mohan a paediatric diabetologist says while those affected with diabetes must strictly follow the instructions of physicians including a regular exercise and a controlled diet those who do not have the disease must be careful to prevent the diabetes half an hour of exercise of walking in moderate speed at least five days a week is the expected amount of exercise vegetables and fruits must eaten more and high calorie food should be avoided but how can one avoid the urge to have a quick bite a burger or a pizza have it once in a while and once means not more than once a month says dr meenakumari