A new study published in Diabetes Care indicates that US children have a high prevalence of diabetes risk factors.

The study was performed in 12 middle schools and had a total sample of approximately 1,740 eighth-graders. As expected, a large percentage of the sample was overweight or at risk of becoming overweight (almost 50%), the number one risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes. It should also be noted that almost 41% of the students that participated in this study had Impared Fasting Glucose. That means that their glucose levels where borderline higher than normal when tested after a fast. However, if you combine this fact along with the finding that large percentage of the students had high insulin levels after fasting we get to the conclusion that a lot of these children have already started developing insulin resistance which is the main cause of type 2 diabetes.

diabetes, children, type 2