As little as fifteen years ago, only a very small number of children developed diabetes in their youth, making it "adult onset" at that time. At that time, the numbers were less than three percent of all newly diagnosed cases. Now, nearly half of all newly diagnosed diabetics are children, leading physicians to no longer use that distinction. During that time frame, it was thought that only obese children were at risk for diabetes as well as the condition that is often a precursor to it. That condition is often called "Prediabetes". New research has revealed that it is not only those who are overweight or obese that are at greatest risk for diabetes.

In a study that was published in the journal, Pediatrics, researchers looked at just over three thousand children between the ages of twelve and nineteen. Numbers revealed that roughly one in four had pre-diabetes or diabetes, accounting for an increase that went from just under ten percent in 2000 to more than twice that number in 2008. But, the numbers in the study did not bear out the theory that it was only the overweight children that had the condition. In that study, thirteen percent of the children with normal weight were diagnosed with prediabetes. The normal weight children were also at a higher risk for other health conditions as well.

The normal and underweight children had a nearly twenty percent risk of higher blood pressure, thirteen percent higher risk of high blood sugar levels and a ten percent risk of higher cholesterol, all conditions once believed to only affect adults. But, it is not just the normal weight children that are affected by these conditions. Adults who are below or at normal weight are at a higher risk for either prediabetes or diabetes as well. According to the study's results, nearly forty percent of those people have one of these conditions.

Two years ago, the US Preventive Service Task Force suggested new guidelines to increase health standards. The task force suggested that all children over the age of six should be screened for obesity and weight related conditions. Those who meet certain weight criteria for increased risks should be referred to behavior interventions that will help them to not only get their weight under control but also to help reduce the health risks. Currently, one third of all Medicare spending is directly in relation to diabetes care. That spending could be well over three trillion dollars in the next ten years if there are not some serious interventions put into place.