Professional Practice

Children: Type 2 Diabetes

According to the National Diabetes Education Program, the rise of the Type 2 diabetes in children is one of the “first consequences of the rise of obesity in our children." Type 2 diabetes generally occurs in obese adults age 40 or older. As the number of obese and sedentary children rises, so do the number of children diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

How Nature Helps

Research published in the Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care shows that children who engage in active outside play are less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than their counterparts that lead sedentary lives inside.

Research 

Explore More Resources:

"Using Nature and Outdoor Activity to Improve Children’s Health," Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Healthcare, 2010
 
Resources

Rx for Outdoor Activity, Children and Nature Initiative

Organizations

Community Gardening Association

Let’s Move Outside

Children & Nature Network

Role of the Landscape Architect

Landscape architects design community gardens where kids can learn to grow fresh fruits and vegetables and spend time outside in the process. Designs of this type promote healthy eating and outdoor activity.

Large urban parks like the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco provide urban children with spaces in which to run and play, bike and explore, all of which are critical to staying healty.

Case Studies

Altgeld Sawyer Corner Farm, Chicago, Illinois

Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California William Hammond Hall and John McLaren

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