Type 2 Diabetes Invading Teenage Years

Thirty-nine thousand U.S. adolescents are estimated to have type 2 diabetes, and more than 2.5 million may have impaired fasting glucose levels, according to statistical estimates extrapolated from a national survey.

In addition to the alarming prevalence of type 2 diabetes among teenagers, impaired fasting glucose levels in this many young people suggests an even larger number arriving at the threshold of diabetes, according to a study in the May issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

These findings have important implications for public health because of the high rate of conversion from impaired fasting glucose levels to type 2 diabetes in adults and the increased risk of cardiovascular disease in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

"It is hoped," the lead author of the study wrote, "that the recognition of the public health time bomb reflected in the report by Duncan will lead to a pervasive societal effort to prevent obesity, a daunting task of such magnitude that enormous community and governmental commitment will be required."

Bonnie - I cannot emphasize enough the importance of getting your child or teen the right educational tools to make wise dietary choices. If we do not, what we can consider epidemics now (obesity and diabetes) will be pandemics in several decades.