A call for a resolution to keep our kids healthy and happy

New Year’s resolutions reveal a lot about people’s personality — Blake Shelton says he wants to become a better gardener in 2023. Conan O’Brien says he’s wished to gain a lot of abdominal weight — so he won’t be disappointed in himself. And Kathy Griffith once resolved to “offend more people than I did this year.”

Whatever you vowed on New Year’s Eve, one thing is true: No matter what the calendar says, it’s never too late to resolve to make positive, life-enhancing changes. That’s what I told Barbara Walters back in 1999 when I appeared on “20/20.” I said, “It’s only too late when they start to lower you six feet under.”

Now, during the beginning of 2023, I can’t think of any resolution that’s more important than having your family resolve to help reverse the tsunami of adolescent Type 2 diabetes that’s headed our way. A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded study says that by 2060, 220,000 kids under age 20 — that’s eight times as many as today — could have Type 2 diabetes and be facing its life-shortening health challenges.

So make a resolution to mind your Ps and Qs and you’ll help your children — and their children — avoid premature heart, kidney and nerve disease.

— The P’s? Posse and Purpose. Build a strong social network that offers your kids emotional stability. And instill in kids a commitment to helping others and finding fulfillment in daily activities.

— The Qs? Quality nutrition (a plant based, minimally processed diet), and a quantity of physical activity (300 minutes a week).

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Health pioneer Michael Roizen, M.D., is chief wellness officer emeritus at the Cleveland Clinic and author of four No. 1 New York Times bestsellers. His next book is “The Great Age Reboot: Cracking the Longevity Code for a Younger Tomorrow.” Do you have a topic Dr. Mike should cover in a future column? If so, please email [email protected].

(c)2023 Michael Roizen, M.D.

Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

(c) 2023 Michael Roizen, M.D. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.