Nursery World - Bitter sweet

With levels of childhood obesity alarmingly high, the increased threat of diabetes needs to be taken seriously. Penny Vevers reports When doctors in the UKreported the first four cases of very overweight white British teenagers with Type 2 diabetes (also known as 'adult-onset'

When doctors in the UKreported the first four cases of very overweight white British teenagers with Type 2 diabetes (also known as 'adult-onset'

diabetes) in February this year, they warned of a huge crisis ahead.

Type 2 diabetes has already been rising steadily in all adults. It is one and a half times more common in the poorest fifth of the population, six times more common in people of South Asian descent and up to three times more common in those of African and African-Caribbean descent. Although Type 2 diabetes has already been seen in a few teenage children from ethnic minorities, this latest report on four 13-to 15-year-olds shows that before long, many children of all origins will be affected, unless obesity is tackled. In America, bigger numbers of obese children of all origins are already developing the condition, as another recent study has revealed.

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