Obese girl, 3, is youngest to be diagnosed with diabetes

AN obese girl aged just three has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in what is believed to be the youngest ever case of the disease.

The girl, who was not named but lives in Houston, Texas, weighed five and a half stone (35kg), putting her in the heaviest 5 per cent of her age group.

Her doctor said that both her parents were also obese and that the family had ‘poor nutritional habits’ and ‘uncontrolled’ intake of calories and fats.

Dr Michael Yafi, of the Department of Paediatric Endocrinology at the University of Texas, said the case highlighted the extent of the global epidemic of diabetes and child obesity.

In the UK there are now 3.9 million people with diabetes, an increase of almost two thirds in a decade. The majority have type 2, which is usually caused by being overweight, and doctors warn this form is becoming increasingly common in children. Around 1,300 under-18s have been diagnosed and the youngest known case in Britain was a seven-year-old.

Dr Yafi, who is presenting details of his patient at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Stockholm, said: ‘The incidence of type 2 diabetes has increased dramatically worldwide in children due to the epidemic of child obesity. Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of type 2 diabetes even in very young obese children.’

He said diabetes in children can be reversed if they are diagnosed early, receive treatment and change their lifestyle. Dr Yafi said he had successfully treated the girl over the past six months with a diet to bring her weight down and with the drug Metformin to control her blood sugar levels.