Dzul sounds alarm as Type 2 diabetes strike under 30s
KUALA LUMPUR: Type 2 diabetes is being diagnosed as early as age 14, says Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (pic).
The Health Minister said 1,932 patients under the age of 30 were registered in the National Diabetes Registry (NDR) in 2025, up from 1,926 patients in 2024.
“As of June 2026, a total of 660 new cases have been recorded.
“A total of 347,813 individuals aged between 18 and 30 years underwent health screening under the ministry’s National Health Screening Initiative (NHSI) in 2025,” he told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
Of the total, 341,257 individuals (98.1%) had no history of non-communicable diseases (NCDs); 11,751 individuals (3.4%) were identified as having high blood glucose levels; and 30,170 individuals (8.8%) were found to have high blood pressure readings, he said.
“These findings indicate that there are young individuals who, unbeknownst to them, actually have risk factors of the four conditions of NCDs, which are hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity.
“We are now seeing individuals being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes as early as 14 years old, not Type 1, where an individual is born with the condition,” he said.
Dzulkefly said that while the Covid-19 pandemic had claimed over 37,000 lives over two years, the silent pandemic of NCDs claims 94,000 lives each year.
On the effectiveness of the war on sugar, he said the intake of sugary drinks among adolescents has reduced from 36.9% to 16.4%.
He said the National Health Morbidity Survey indicated that the consumption of carbonated drinks once a day had reduced slightly from 36.9% in 2019 to 32.4% in 2024.
The tax on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) has been increased to 90sen per litre.
“The war on sugar (campaign) and the SSB hike have shown some results, but I feel it is still early for us to evaluate the Strategic Plan to Reduce Sugar Intake Among Malaysians 2024-2030,” he said.
The ministry is also continuing its efforts through initiatives such as KiBaR (Kira, Bakar, Rekod), which touches on energy balance literacy; the Healthier Choice Logo; and the Healthy Dining Programme.
