Type 2 diabetes cases found as early as age 14
PETALING JAYA: Type 2 diabetes has been detected among Malaysians at an increasingly young age, with the disease detected in children as young as 14, according to the Health Ministry.
Senior paediatrician Datuk Dr Amar Singh HSS warned that children who develop the disease so early could face serious complications such as kidney failure, vision loss and heart disease by their 30s.
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He said the early onset of Type 2 diabetes meant children were exposed to high blood sugar levels for much longer, putting them at risk of developing complications years earlier than expected.
The growing incidence of Type 2 diabetes among adolescents was linked to the rise in childhood obesity in Malaysia, a trend paediatricians had observed in clinical practice over the past two decades, he said.
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Dr Amar Singh said data from the Health Ministry’s National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) showed obesity among children had risen from 5.4% in 2006 to 6.1% in 2011, 11.9% in 2015 and 14.8% in 2019.
The 2024 NHMS found that 28% of school-aged children and teenagers were outside the healthy weight range, comprising 14.4% who were overweight and 13.6% who were obese, he said.
“The World Obesity Federation estimated that close to three million Malaysian children aged five to 19 were overweight or living with obesity in 2025,” he said.
Dr Amar Singh said being overweight or obese was a major risk factor for Type 2 diabetes, although genetics also play a role.
Children with family members who had Type 2 diabetes were more likely to develop the disease, while sedentary lifestyles, excessive screen time and diets high in ultra-processed and sugar-rich foods further increased the risk, he said.
He warned that the longer a child lives with high blood sugar, the greater the risk of developing complications such as diabetic kidney disease, eyesight damage and nerve damage.
“They also develop hypertension earlier and have a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes at a younger age. Many will end up requiring insulin therapy earlier,” he said.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad told the Dewan Rakyat in July that Type 2 diabetes has been detected in children as young as 14.
He said 1,932 patients below 30 were registered with the National Diabetes Registry last year, up from 1,926 in 2024.
As of June this year, another 660 new cases had already been recorded.
