This study aimed to determine the prevalence of risk factors for type 2 diabetes in overweight and obese adolescents attending hospital-based paediatric care in Western Melbourne.
100 overweight and obese adolescents (aged 10-17 years) who attended an outpatient clinic at Western Health between May 2019 and May 2020 were randomly selected for structured telephone interview to assess for presence of other risk factors.
45% of the eligible adolescents were overweight or obese. Of those selected for interview, 77% had an additional risk factor for type 2 diabetes. No association between the number of risk factors and body mass index standard deviation score was found, however there was an association between the number of risk factors for type 2 diabetes and both family history of type 2 diabetes and ethnicity.
This paediatric subpopulation had a high rate of risk factors for type 2 diabetes in addition to overweight and obesity, and are at risk of premature mortality and chronic morbidity should they develop type 2 diabetes. The high rate of at-risk youth identified in our cohort may be indicative of the risk for youth in similar populations.