Climbing diabetes and obesity in China

According to reports from China this week, both obesity and diabetes amongst children have increased in the region. More and more Chinese children are becoming overweight and prone to type 2 diabetes, largely because of higher stress and unhealthy lifestyles.
According to newspaper the China Daily, one out of every five children are classified as being obese, with approximately 2 per cent suffering from type 2 diabetes. The results were gleaned from a study of 17,311 children aged between eight and eightee, conducted by the Beijing Children’s Hospital.
The deputy director of the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau, part of the Ministry of Health, Kong Lingzhi, reportedly commented: “The number of children with type 2 diabetes has risen sharply in recent years. The figures reflect the trend that the number of children suffering from type 2 diabetes might soon exceed the number of those with type 1 diabetes.”
China is emerging as one of the global diabetes hotspots, with around 20 million diabetics in the country. This figure is expected to surge in the next decade.