Rising Rates of Type 2 Diabetes Among American Youth: A National Crisis
Once considered a condition that only affects adults, we now know that type 2 diabetes can develop at any age. Previously known as "adult-onset diabetes," the disease is increasingly being diagnosed in children and teenagers across the United States.1 This rise in type 2 diabetes among youth threatens to change the landscape of childhood health and have profound, long-term consequences as these children enter adulthood.
What is type 2 diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease that occurs when blood glucose levels—also called blood sugar levels—are too high. The body uses glucose for energy, and most glucose comes from the food we eat. Insulin is a hormone that helps move glucose out of the blood and into cells, where it can be used for energy. In type 2 diabetes, the body either doesn’t make enough insulin or doesn’t use insulin well, and not enough glucose reaches the cells. Glucose builds up in the blood of people with type 2 diabetes and can lead to complications such as heart disease, nerve damage, vision problems, and kidney disease.
Understanding the Impact of Type 2 Diabetes on Children's Physical and Mental Health
What makes the development of type 2 diabetes in children—called youth-onset type 2 diabetes— especially alarming is how differently it behaves in children compared to adults. Researchers have found that the disease progresses more rapidly in children.2,3 Youth and adolescents with type 2 diabetes are also more likely to develop complications earlier than adults, and the complications are more severe.4,5 Furthermore, the condition is harder to manage in youth, with treatments being less effective and fewer treatment options available to children and young people.
Beyond physical health, type 2 diabetes also takes a toll on children’s mental well-being. Researchers have found that young people with diabetes are nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders compared to their peers without diabetes.6 Youth with diabetes are also at higher risk of depression, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,7 making it critical to address both physical and mental health in diabetes care.
Knowing Who’s at Risk
The number of children and teens newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes nearly doubled between 2002 and 2018, increasing by approximately 5 percent each year.8 Most children with type 2 diabetes are diagnosed in their early teens,9 and these early diagnoses carry long-term implications for their health and quality of life.4
Researchers don’t yet fully understand what’s driving the spike in type 2 diabetes rates in children, but childhood obesity is believed to be a key contributing factor.10 Other factors that increase a child’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes include physically inactive, a family history of diabetes, and background.11 Children born to mothers who had gestational diabetes during pregnancy are also at greater risk. Researchers are currently conducting studies, such as the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study and the DISCOVERY of Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes in Youth Study, to better understand why some children develop type 2 diabetes while others don’t.
Reversing the Trend
The rise of type 2 diabetes in children is a public health crisis that demands urgent attention. According to projections, the prevalence of youth-onset type 2 diabetes in the United States could increase sixfold by 2050.12 This will not only strain the healthcare system but also lead to a significant economic burden, as people with diabetes have medical costs 2.6 times higher than those without the disease.13
The good news is that type 2 diabetes can often be prevented or managed through lifestyle changes. Healthy eating habits, regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, getting enough sleep, and nurturing mental well-being can all help reduce the risk of developing diabetes or slow its progression. By raising awareness, supporting research, and promoting healthier lifestyles, we can help reverse this trend and improve health outcomes for future generations.
References
1 Wagenknecht, L. E., Lawrence, J. M., Isom, S., Jensen, E. T., Dabelea, D., Liese, A. D., Dolan, L. M., Shah, A. S., Bellatorre, A., Sauder, K., Marcovina, S., Reynolds, K., Pihoker, C., Imperatore, G., Divers, J., & SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study (2023). Trends in incidence of youth-onset type 1 and type 2 diabetes in the USA, 2002-18: Results from the population-based SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study.The Lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology, 11(4), 242–250.https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-8587(23)00025-6
2 Barrett, T., Jalaludin, M. Y., Turan, S., Hafez, M., Shehadeh, N., & Novo Nordisk Pediatric Type 2 Diabetes Global Expert Panel. (2020). Rapid progression of type 2 diabetes and related complications in children and young people–A literature review. Pediatric diabetes, 21(2), 158–172.https://doi.org/10.1111/pedi.12953
3 Savic Hitt, T. A., & Katz, L. E. L. (2020). Pediatric type 2 diabetes: Not a mini version of adult type 2 diabetes.Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics of North America, 49(4), 679–693. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecl.2020.08.003
4 TODAY Study Group, Bjornstad, P., Drews, K. L., Caprio, S., Gubitosi-Klug, R., Nathan, D. M., Tesfaldet, B., Tryggestad, J., White, N. H., & Zeitler, P. (2021). Long-term complications in youth-onset type 2 diabetes. The New England Journal of Medicine, 385(5), 416–426. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2100165
5 Rodriquez, I. M., & O'Sullivan, K. L. (2023). Youth-onset type 2 diabetes: Burden of complications and socioeconomic cost. Current Diabetes Reports, 23(5), 59–67. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-023-01501-7
6 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, May 15). Mental health for kids and teens with diabetes. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/data-research/research/young-people-mental-health.html
7 Park, J., Tang, S., Mendez, I., Barrett, C., Danielson, M. L., Bitsko, R. H., Holliday, C., & Bullard, K. M. (2023). Prevalence of diagnosed depression, anxiety, and ADHD among youth with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus. Primary Care Diabetes, 17(6), 658–660. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcd.2023.09.004
8 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, May 15). Trends in diabetes among young people. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/data-research/research/trends-new-diabetes-cases-young-people.html
9 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, May 15). Preventing type 2 diabetes in kids. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention-type-2/type-2-diabetes-in-kids.html
10 Chandrasekaran, P., & Weiskirchen, R. (2024). The role of obesity in type 2 diabetes mellitus–An overview. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25(3), 1882. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25031882
11 Tillotson, C. V., Bowden, S. A., Shah, M., & Boktor, S. W. (2023). Pediatric type 2 diabetes. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK431046/
12Nadeau, K. J., Mayer-Davis, E. J., Gubitosi-Klug, R., Zeitler, P. S., Kahn, S. E., Dabelea, D., & SEARCH, TODAY, RISE, and DISCOVERY study groups (2025). Youth-onset type 2 diabetes: What we've learned from key youth-onset type 2 diabetes studies, what we still don't know, and why it is important. Diabetes Care, 48(7), 1136–1149. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc25-0001
13 Parker, E. D., Lin, J., Mahoney, T., Ume, N., Yang, G., Gabbay, R. A., ElSayed, N. A., & Bannuru, R. R. (2024). Economic costs of diabetes in the U.S. in 2022. Diabetes Care, 47(1), 26–43. https://doi.org/10.2337/dci23-0085