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By Jane Kirby, PA Health Writer
Figures show that hundreds of children and youth receive specialized treatment for type 2 diabetes linked to obesity.
Some 745 children under 25 years old were treated in pediatric diabetes treatment units in 2017/18, 30% more than the previous year and 47% of the 507 registered in 2013/14.
Of 745 youth, 85% (630) were obese.
The data, published by the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), showed that more girls than boys were receiving treatment and that they were more likely to be from a non-white or underprivileged environment.
About 45% had high blood pressure and 34% exceeded the higher target of total cholesterol.
The Local Government Association (LGA), which badyzed the numbers, said that the actual number of children treated for type 2 diabetes would probably be much higher because many of them are only treated by the services of a generalist.
Type 2 diabetes was diagnosed in children in the United Kingdom in 2000.
The LGA said more needs to be done to reach out to certain ethnic and social minority groups and called on the government to cancel the £ 700m cuts in public health funding.
Ian Hudspeth, Chair of the LGA's Board of Directors for the Welfare of the Community, said: "Childhood obesity is one of the biggest public health problems to which These numbers are another sad example of how we collectively failed as a society.
"The government's plan on childhood obesity set out the bold ambition to halve the number of obese children by 2030 and we're waiting to see what's going on." in the next Green Paper on Prevention.
"But we need urgent action now."
Professor Russell Viner, President of RCPCH, said: "Type 2 diabetes is a serious health problem badociated with obesity and, if it is not managed, it can lead to kidney failure, eye problems, strokes and heart disease, as well as amputations.
"So, the fact that there has been a 47% increase in the number of children developing this disease is a major concern.
"Obesity affects one in three children – usually those living in poverty – when they leave primary school. There is not only the risk of type 2 diabetes that they face.
"There are other serious badociated diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
"The LGA is right to call for a reversal of cuts in public health – they are hurting children's health, fighting obesity, and disproportionately affecting the poor."
"These new LGA appeals, along with this powerful data, are a stark reminder of the urgent need to implement the recommendations set out in the Childhood Obesity Plan, in full and without delay. "
The LGA said the councils in England were facing a funding shortfall of 8 billion pounds by 2025.
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