Chennai: The proportion of schoolchildren in the city with impaired fasting glucose — a measure used to identify prediabetes — rose to 28.1% from 3.1% among girls and to 26.4% from 3.5% among boys over 17 years, a new study found.The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews, compared 954 students aged 12 to 19 screened in 2023 with a comparable group of 1,080 students surveyed in 2006. The students attended private and govt schools in Chennai and came from low and middle-income households.Impaired fasting glucose means blood sugar is higher than normal after several hours without food, but not high enough to be called diabetes. The students in the 2023 survey had an average age of 14, compared with 15 in 2006. Yet average fasting blood glucose increased to 5.4 mmol/L from 4.8 mmol/L among girls and to 5.4 mmol/L from 4.9 mmol/L among boys.“We’re finding that one in four schoolchildren has abnormal glucose levels,” said Dr Nanditha Ramachandran. “That should worry us. When a 14-year-old has the glucose profile we used to see in adults, it tells us the metabolic clock is starting much earlier than before,” she said.We’re also seeing weight gain, bigger waists and lipid changes together, she said. “That combination is what pushes children towards diabetes and heart disease later on,” he said. The average body mass index, an indicator of general obesity, increased to 20.6 from 19.7 among girls and to 19.4 from 17.9 among boys. Average waist circumference increased to 69 cm from 62 cm among girls and to 70 cm from 63 cm among boys.After accounting for other measured factors, students screened in 2023 had about 10 times the odds of impaired fasting glucose compared with those screened in 2006. “This could be an underestimation,” said the study’s corresponding author, Dr A Ramachandran, a senior diabetologist. “Students aged 15 or younger had higher risks than older students. We did not ask what the children ate or how active they were, and we did not do the longer two-hour sugar test,” he said. “That means some cases of prediabetes may have been missed,” he added, calling for a prevention programme among school students.“The high incidence of prediabetes among school students is probably why we are seeing more diabetes in young adults,” he said. “Prediabetes is not destiny — it’s a warning light. With healthier food, regular physical activity and a consistent routine, many teenagers can bring their blood sugar back to normal. But if nothing changes, that same ‘borderline’ stage can quietly progress to full-blown diabetes in a few years.”
