Diabetes Type 2 is rocketing in young

THE number of young people being treated for Type 2 diabetes has risen by 40 per cent in just four years to more than 700, figures show.

The condition, most commonly seen in adults, occurs when the body cannot produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugar levels and can be linked to obesity.

Council leaders described the increase as “extremely worrying” and called for a boost in local funding to help tackle the public health crisis.

The figures, from an audit published by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), reveal 715 people under the age of 25 received care for Type 2 diabetes from specialist paediatric units in England and Wales in 2016/17. Of those children and young people, 78.6 per cent were also obese.

This is an increase of 41 per cent from 2013/14, when there were 507 cases.

The data only includes young people treated in paediatric units and not by their GP, and it is believed the true number of young people affected could be much higher.

Professor Russell Viner, president of the RCPCH, said: “A rise in Type 2 diabetes of this magnitude is alarming and shows that the childhood obesity epidemic is starting to bite.

“It’s also concerning that we might not be seeing the full picture.”

The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents 370 councils in England and Wales, urged the Government to boost investment and to provide specialist support for the most severely obese children.

Izzi Seccombe, chairwoman of the LGA’s community wellbeing board, said: “We need urgent action now. Type 2 diabetes can be a lifelong debilitating illness and these figures will only multiply if we delay.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: “We know the damage obesity causes and are determined to halve childhood obesity by 2030.”