An article published in the Lancet points out that factors that typically co-exist with poverty, such as food insecurity, disparities in access to care, and related mental health challenges, make the adoption of behavioural lifestyle changes, a cornerstone in clinical management of type 2 Diabetes, challenging. The authors Jonathan McGavock, Brandy Wickow and Allison B Dart recommend that clinicians and scientists should actively engage adolescents with type 2 diabetes and their family members in the design of novel approaches to care.
It is clear that the family must be involved in the treatment of the patient. But, it is only by recognizing, openly discussing and addressing the underlying conditions responsible for these financial, racial and ethnic disparities in our society that we can make meaningful incursion upon this growing scourge on the future of our youth.