DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

A troubling spike in diabetes diagnoses among children and adolescents has put the healthcare system in the Cibao region on high alert. At the Arturo Grullón Regional Children’s Hospital, the largest public hospital in Santiago city, medical staff report seeing up to 100 pediatric patients per month, a figure that underscores a growing public health crisis.

Dr. Lourdes Ruíz, coordinator of the hospital’s Endocrinology Department, describes the situation as a burgeoning pandemic. Experts attribute the rise to a combination of sedentary habits and poor nutrition.

Dominicans regularly consume a large amount of junk foods, a large amount of processed foods and fried foods. There is little awareness that these foods can be damaging.

Disordered eating is the primary factor in diabetes diagnoses among children and adolescents who, as adults, may...