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Diabetes. His father, a patient of mine, got him to the clinic on Thursday," said Dr Nikhil Bhagwat, consulting endocrinologist in south Mumbai.
Bhagwat found out Akash's daily routine did not include any physical activity. "He used to go to school, then tuitions and his day ended with doing his homework. No wonder the boy weighed 90 kg," Bhagwat said.
Doctors said there has been a steep rise in the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in young adults. While Type 1 diabetes is juvenile diabetes, where one's pancreas does not secrete enough insulin, Type 2 diabetes is caused when the action of insulin production is impaired due to factors such as obesity, high calorie food intake or genetic factors.
"When I started my practice in 2001, I saw only people in their 50s and 60s getting diabetes. The spectrum of patients has changed over the years. We started seeing patients in their 30s and 40s, and now increasingly teenagers with Type 2 diabetes," said Bhagwat.
"The major reason for the increase is faulty diet and nutrition. Children are into colas, bakery products, saturated fat foodstuff such as burgers, chips, and other fried items," said, Dr Anil Bhoraskar, diabetologist, Asian Heart Institute.
Source: Hindustan Times