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 suffer the consequences of reaching chronic or severe stages of the condition, corroborates Dr. Inoelva Espinal, vice president of the Northern Branch of the Dominican Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition, in a follow up Listin Diario interview. She said the dietary chaos prevalent in the country is causing people to develop chronic diseases at an accelerated rate.
Among other reasons cited is the proliferation of digital devices has replaced physical play, leading to a significant drop in activity levels among local youth. While in the past, children lived in homes with large patios, today most children live in cramped quarters and parents do not allow the children to play on the streets due to security issues.
Doctors are now seeing children as young as six years old presenting with morbid obesity, a condition that was rarely seen in these age groups in previous decades. The Dominican Republic already faces one of the highest diabetes prevalence rates in the Caribbean, with approximately 13.45% of the total population affected.
The Ministry of Public Health has been incorporating major measures to promote prevention of health conditions. Coming from the functional health world as a private practitioner, Minister Victor Atallah and his staff seek to create an awareness to help people incorporate in their daily activities positive actions to reduce diseases.
Recently, the Ministry of Education removed sugary drinks and snacks from school food plans. But for the part, nutrition education is almost inexistent.
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Listin Diario
Listin Diario
26 February 2026