According to the CDC, about 17 percent of kids and teens in the U.S. are considered obese, a number that has tripled since the 1970s. One of the consequences of excess weight in children has been an increase in childhood cases of type 2 diabetes. It used to be that type 2 diabetes was called “adult-onset diabetes” because it would take years to develop. However, data shows that doctors are now diagnosing type 2 in young kids and even toddlers. An article in the Seattle Times features the new data and also gives five take-aways. One of the most important of these is the tremendous effects diabetes can have over time because “the earlier the disease starts, the more potential it has to do damage.”

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