Kiwi kids at risk of type 2 diabetes

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-03-12 00:01

New Zealand

Credit: Annie Spratt/Unsplash

Research from Massey University reveals a worryingly high rate of pre-diabetes in a sample of over 400 Kiwi children. Their findings suggest that South Asian and Pasifika kids were at higher risk than others, and that low levels of physical activity were also linked with the condition. The authors say more work is needed to prevent these children from developing type 2 diabetes later in life.

Media release

From: New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA)

Key Points

· Pre-diabetes was present in 16% of children,

· Pre-diabetes risk was higher in some ethnic groups. These ethnic groups were South Asian (30%), Pacific (27%), and Māori (18%) as compared with European (6.0%).

· Factors predicting pre-diabetes risk were South Asian and Pacific Island ethnicities, high waist circumference, high body fat, and low physical activity.

Summary

We used a large sample with broad representation of ethnic distribution in New Zealand to investigate the rate of pre-diabetes in children. The main findings of our study were that the prevalence of pre-diabetes was 16%, and it was higher in South Asian and Pacific Island children, those with lower physical-activity levels and those with higher waist circumference or body fat percentage. These findings suggest that signs of diabetes risk are detectable at a young age, supporting the need for appropriate and timely interventions to halt the progression to T2DM.

Journal/
conference: New Zealand Medical Journal

Organisation/s: Massey University

Funder: Funding not specified

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