AN ALARMING rise in the number of children and young people being treated in hospital for Type 2 diabetes has prompted calls for tougher action against childhood obesity.

The latest annual audit of paediatric units in England and Wales revealed that 715 people under the age of 25 were treated for the condition in hospital in 2016/17.

The figure has soared by 41% in just four years. In 2013/14, there were 507 cases.

The audit currently only covers units south of the Border but the picture is likely to be broadly similar in Scotland where rates of Type 2 diabetes are at an all-time high. 

Separate statistics for Scotland will be published later in the summer by the Scottish Diabetes Group as part of its annual survey of the number of people living with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

The England and Wales audit, carried out every year by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, found that 79% of the children and young people being treated for Type 2 diabetes in hospital were also obese. Almost half of all the patients were either black or Asian.

However, the data only includes young people treated in paediatric units and not by their GP, and it is believed the true number of young people affected by Type 2 could be much higher.

Professor Russell Viner, president of the RCPCH, said: "A rise in Type 2 diabetes of this magnitude is alarming and shows that the childhood obesity epidemic is starting to bite.

"It's also concerning that we might not be seeing the full picture."

The condition occurs when the body cannot produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugar levels and, although the exact mechanism for onset remains uncertain, patients are at significantly higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes if they are obese.

In the past, the condition almost always developed in adulthood only, but as rates of childhood obesity have grown the disease is increasingly being diagnosed in schoolchildren.

The most recent figures for Scotland, covering 2016, showed that Type 2 diabetes had been diagnosed that year in three in every 100,000 Scots aged 10 to 19. Among the 20-29 age group, the diagnosis rate was 31 per 100,000 - the highest it had been since records began in 2007.

Type 2 diabetes can lead to a range of health problems such as heart disease, strokes and kidney problems as well as complications such as blindness and amputation.

Kathryn Kirchner, clinical advisor at Diabetes UK, said: "Although there are a number of risk factors for Type 2 diabetes which are out of our control, one of the most important risk factors is being overweight or obese, which we are able to influence.

"These figures are a stark reminder that we have a collective responsibility to push for the actions outlined in the most recent chapter of Childhood Obesity Plan, including clearer and more consistent food labelling."

The Scottish Government this year set a target to halve childhood obesity by 2030 after the most recent figures revealed that 29% of children in Scotland were at risk of being overweight and 14% at risk of obesity.

It has also set out plans to tackle obesity though bans on supermarket junk food deals, mandatory calorie displays on restaurant and takeaway menus, and caps on portion sizes that could see offers such as all-you-can-eat buffets outlawed.