New Systematic Review Revealed That 25% Of Pediatric Type 2 Diabetes Patients Do Not Have Obesity
It is no secret that the United States has been battling a childhood obesity epidemic for decades. According to the CDC, the prevalence of childhood obesity skyrocketed during the 1980s and 1990s– with rates tripling from 5% during the 1960s to approximately 15%.
And now, the most recent analysis conducted by the agency revealed that this rate has only continued to increase.
From 2017 to 2020, the prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents between the ages of 2 and 19 was nearly 20%– affecting almost 15 million young people.
At the same time, the incidence of diabetes among American youth has also been a rising cause for alarm.
In August of 2021, the CDC even declared there were “concerning increases” in the prevalence of diabetes among people under the age of 20.
The center detailed how new research uncovered that from 2001 to 2017, the estimated number of people between the ages of 10 and 19 living with type 2 diabetes nearly doubled.
While it has long been thought that being overweight or obese is a driving risk factor for developing this disease, though, a new study conducted by researchers at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, has uncovered a disconnect. More specifically, not all type 2 diabetes pediatric patients actually have obesity.
The study was led by M.D. candidate Milena Cioana and her team, who conducted a systematic review of 53 studies, which included over 8,900 participants.
They ultimately found that the prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes was just over 75%.
rogerphoto – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual people
Meanwhile, the prevalence of obesity at the time of youth type 2 diabetes diagnosis was just above 77%.
Males were found to have a higher likelihood of being obese as compared to females. And in terms of racial disparities, Asian participants were found to have the lowest prevalence of obesity at about 65%. White participants, on the other hand, were found to have the highest prevalence at nearly 90%.
So, even though three-quarters of young type 2 diabetes patients are obese, 25% of children receiving this disease diagnosis lack the driving risk factor.
This reality has since pushed the researchers to advocate for further analyses in order to provide more effective management strategies that account for those who are not obese.
“Further research is needed to evaluate the causes of [gender] and race and ethnicity-based associations of diabetes with obesity, and explore additional factors that may affect the risk of developing type 2 diabetes apart from obesity in children,” the authors wrote.
To read the study’s complete findings, which have since been published in JAMA Network Open, visit the link here.
If true crime defines your free time, this is for you: join Chip Chick’s True Crime Tribe
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
More About:Science
Read This Next
