Researchers at the Manitoba Institute of Child Health diagnosed 345 new cases of Type 2 diabetes among young Canadians between April 2006 and March 2008. Half of those cases were in aboriginal communities.
The average age of diagnosis was 13.7 years and 95% of the children were obese.
Type 2 diabetes is usually diagnosed in adults. It was rarely diagnosed in children until recently. Now the rate is going up as more and more youth are overweight.
Type 2 diabetes has been linked to obesity and other health risks. Dr. Heather Dean is one of the lead authors of this study. She says, "The potential impact of childhood Type 2 diabetes will significantly affect workforce productivity and the health-care system."
Dr. Dean and the rest of the research team hope that these results will lead to a new push to combat childhood obesity.
In Canada, it is estimated there are more than two million Type 2 diabetics. 550,000 live in Quebec. A lot of people do not even realize they have diabetes.