Type 2 diabetes now affects nearly 7,000 young Britons

New figures reveal huge rise in children and young people with diabetes linked to obesity

Nearly 7,000 children and young Britons under 25 have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, the chronic condition linked to obesity that can lead to amputations and blindness.

Type 2 diabetes used to be virtually unknown in young people. It usually develops over the age of 40 in white Europeans, or after the age of 25 in people who are African-Caribbean, black African, or south Asian.