12-year-old gets diabetes from eating fast food every day

A 12-year-old boy was diagnosed with diabetes after he ate fast food every day for three months in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, cqwb.com.cn reported on Nov 14, World Diabetes Day.

The overweight boy, nicknamed Linlin, likes fast food but was kept on a strict diet by his mother, surnamed Deng. Starting in August, Linlin consumed fast food and carbonated beverages every day as Deng was on a business trip. Three months later, Linlin put on more than five kg of weight, felt thirsty all day and went to the toilet several times every night.

The doctor diagnosed Linlin with diabetes due to too much fast food.

Yan Zhencheng, doctor at the Daping Hospital in Chongqing municipality, said the number of cases of child diabetes has been rising in recent years. The hospital receives 4,500 diabetes patients every month, 10 percent of whom are teenagers.

Yang pointed out that the main reason for the high incidence of diabetes is too much high-sugar, high-fat food and lack of exercise. Parents should set an example for children in eating healthy food, and provide a healthy and balanced diet for children, especially controlling the intake of fast food and saying no to carbonated beverages.

Children with a mother suffering from gestation diabetes meilitus are likely to acquire Type-2 diabetes. The prevention of child diabetes should start from pregnancy by controlling weight and doing exercise regularly, Yang added.

Statistics show that China had as many as 114 million diabetes patients in 2013, accounting for about one third of the patients in the world, according to China National Radio.