Urgent warning to parents as ‘perfect storm’ sees 50% rise in kids with deadly condition

PARENTS have been warned to be on the lookout for a deadly condition in kids as cases rise 50 per cent.

Experts have found that a growing number of children are being treated for type 2 diabetes fuelled by soaring obesity.

Around 13.6million people are at risk of getting it the illness in the UK, while a million have no idea they already do.

Diabetes UK says nearly 1,000 under-19s were being treated by the NHS for type 2 diabetes in 2020/21.

It is a leap of more than 50 per cent over the past five years, with 621 needing treatment in 2015/16.

Type 2 diabetes is mostly driven by obesity – with cases in young Brits almost unheard of a generation ago.

Chris Askew, Chief Executive of Diabetes UK, said: “We are very concerned that this spike in childhood obesity will translate into an even greater increase in children with type 2 diabetes in the coming years, a crisis fuelled by long-standing health inequalities and made worse still by impacts of the cost-of-living crisis.

"Government needs to entirely rethink its commitment to child health.”

Lockdown has fuelled record levels of childhood obesity in England – with the number of kids starting school too fat rocketing by 45 per cent last year.

Official data reveals 14.4 per cent of four and five-year-olds were dangerously heavy last year, up from 9.9 per cent in 2019/20.

And more than one in five are leaving primary school too fat.
Campaigners claim a generation of kids are being let down.

Diabetes UK said the poorest children in England and Wales were "disproportionately affected" by obesity and diabetes.

It warns the nation’s most deprived youngsters will now "bear the brunt for” of the cost-of-living crisis, the poorest children for “decades to come".

In response to the findings, Diabetes UK is urging the government to urgently reverse its decision to delay restrictions to junk food marketing and unhealthy food promotions.

It also said the Tories need to go further to meet their goals of halving childhood obesity by 2020.

Alongside this, Diabetes UK said more needs to be done to address long-standing health disparities, including outlining steps in the forthcoming Health Disparities White Paper.

Type 2 diabetes costs the NHS more than £1.5million an hour.

Ten-year survival rates for breast cancer are better than they are for this killer – and the complications include heart attack, stroke, cancer and erectile dysfunction.

You're more at risk of developing the condition if you're over 40, or over the age of 25 for those of south Asian heritage.

If you have a parent, brother or sister who has the illness that you are at increased risk.

Also, if you're overweight or you are of Asian, African-Caribbean or black African origin then you are more at risk.