Children in the US who are as young as 13 years run the risk of contracting type 2 diabetes. This was until recently a risk run by older people. The study which took into account 1,740 eighth-graders found that as many as 50% of them were either overweight or about to become so. High blood sugar levels were also noticed in 41% of the cases, while high insulin levels were seen in the case of 36% of the subjects.
This is an indicator that the body is developing a resistance to insulin. Even though there were very few diabetes cases among the children, the risk factor was seen to be very high. The journal Diabetes Care has published the results of the study. Ethnic groups like Native Americans and Hispanic people run a greater risk of contracting this type of diabetes, and the study covered a large number of children belonging to these groups.The chief reason for this is reported to be a sedentary lifestyle, which is leading to excess weight. This can be countered by leading a more physically active life and avoiding junk food. Diabetes at an early age may result in complications like nerve damage, kidney failure and heart disease at later stages. The problem has to be tackled immediately to avoid large-scale health complications in the country at a later stage. The survey picked on one child in the case of families which had several children.
