Epidemiology and Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Children with Obesity

Abstract

The epidemiology and prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in today’s youth and tomorrow’s adults, is currently in alarming stages and goes hand in hand with Childhood Obesity (CO). This association causes detrimental impacts on child health and around 68% global population today are affected by it. T2DM is initiated in children with obesity as insulin functioning is resisted, which further leads to an inflammation and damage in the pancreas leading to adverse effects in later stages of life. Many scientific studies have been conducted to understand this link and does Body Mass Index (BMI) contribute to this epidemiology and complications related to T2DM and Obesity in children. Alarming effects, both physically and internally on the pancreas are observed because of these conditions and also causes fat deposition in the body organs like pancreas leading to increased Body Mass Index (BMI) and Waist Circumference (WC). This association can be caused due to genetic factor during infancy, but this has still not been validated as relevant researches are still underway. Important studies like SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth have contributed to giving important and useful findings about this association but still much needs to be achieved to make future progress in overcoming this burden on child health and ensure that Sustainable Developmental Goal (SDG) 3 is achieved at a global level.