Shock child diabetes figures

Parents are being warned that obese children are at four times the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Research shows that the rate of children developing Type 2 diabetes in Britain is more than five times higher than it was less than 20 years ago.

Researchers from King’s College London looked at electronic health records from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink, to pull data from 375 general practices.

They examined BMI measurements, diabetes diagnosis records, and other figures from 369,362 children between the ages of two and 15.

They found that 654 children and teenagers were diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes between 1994 and 2013.

The researchers also found that the rate of children developing Type 2 diabetes increased from an average of six new cases per 100,000 children each year between 1994 and 1998, to an average of 33 new cases per 100,000 children each year, between 2009 and 2013.

Study lead author Dr Ali Abbasi, of King’s College London, said: “As the prevalence of obesity and being overweight has rapidly risen, an increasing number of children and young adults have been diagnosed with diabetes in the UK since the early 1990s.

“A child with obesity faces a four-fold greater risk of being diagnosed with diabetes by the age of 25, than their counterpart who is of normal weight.

“Given that diabetes and obesity are preventable, our findings and other research will hopefully motivate the public and policymakers to invest and engage in diabetes prevention efforts.”