Britain’s obesity shame: Children of 9 have diabetes
CHILDREN as young as nine are being treated for type 2 diabetes in a devastating consequence of the obesity crisis.
Doctors are reporting a surge in cases among children and teenagers – whereas 20 years ago the illness had only ever been seen in adults.
A national audit shows the number of under-25s being treated for the condition has increased by 40 per cent in just three years.
There were 715 children and young people registered as receiving treatment for type 2 diabetes in 2016/17, up from 507 in 2013/14.
But these figures are almost certainly an underestimate, as they do not include those who haven’t been diagnosed or who are being treated in adult diabetes clinics.
One of the country’s leading specialists said he was now holding fortnightly clinics for children with the condition.
Professor Timothy Barrett, from Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital, used to run the clinics four times a year but increased their frequency 18 months ago in response to the demand. One of his patients developed liver disease aged between 14 and 15, one of the most serious complications of type 2 diabetes.
The condition can also lead to heart disease, kidney damage and
‘Masking an even bigger problem’
blindness – and many younger patients will succumb to these in their teens or 20s.
Doctors say this is because when type 2 diabetes occurs in children, it is far more aggressive than in adults and they develop these complications much earlier on.
The condition is strongly linked to obesity and occurs when insulin in the pancreas doesn’t work properly, or the pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin.
It is usually treated with insulin injections to control blood glucose levels. Patients also undergo regular check-ups on their eyes, kidneys and feet – which may have to be amputated if the nerves become damaged.
The figures are from the Royal College of Paediatric and Child Health’s latest National Paediatric Diabetes Audit, which records the number of children attending specialist diabetes clinics in England and Wales.
They show that in 2016/17, a total of 653 children aged 17 or under were being treated for type 2 diabetes. This included at least 11 aged nine and under, 21 aged ten and 30 aged 11.
The audit only states the number of children aged between five and nine years old who are being treated, so it is likely that some are younger than nine.
It also suggests that a handful of children under four have the disease, although the authors suspect they were wrongly diagnosed.
Dr Justin Warner, the clinical lead for the audit and a children’s diabetes consultant, said: ‘What we are seeing is more children year-onyear who are attending children’s services with type 2 diabetes.
‘We may be masking an even bigger problem, a lot of these may be going to young adult services. If you’re diagnosed when you’re 16, for instance, a GP may send you directly to an adult clinic.
‘Many of these will have had obesity for many years, if they are 15 they will have had 15 years of being overweight.’
Earlier this year, Diabetes UK described the condition as the fastest growing health crisis of our time after figures showed a doubling in cases in 20 years.
Around 3.7million people have been diagnosed with type 2 or type 1 diabetes, costing the health service £9billion annually.
Latest NHS data shows that a third of children leaving primary school are overweight or obese and the rate is going up year-on-year.
In June, the Government published a new childhood obesity strategy which called for compulsory calorie labelling on menus and a ban on discounted junk food.
But campaigners said it didn’t go far enough – they want ministers to impose compulsory targets on the food industry to cut levels of sugar and fat and reduce portion sizes.
Professor Graham MacGregor, chairman of Action on Sugar, said: ‘These findings are totally unacceptable and reinforce the urgent need for the Government to introduce a joined-up action based obesity campaign. It’s a tragedy that young children are now being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. This cannot continue.’