Prevalence of Disturbances in Glucose Regulation in Obese Children..

Childhood obesity is one of the most important present public health issues. Complications of obesity once observed only in the population of obese adults, like type 2 diabetes and other disturbances in glucose regulation, are emerging in the pediatric population along with the pandemic of obesity. Prevalence of these co-morbidities of obesity varies widely in the populations of children and adults in different regions, with signifi cantly higher observed prevalence in USA compared with European countries. Results of the study performed in Institute for Mother and Child Health Care of Serbia “Dr Vukan Čupić” in a group of 301 obese children and adolescents, discovered prevalence of type 2 diabetes was 0,3%, and of other disturbances in glucose regulation, namely impaired glucose regulation and impaired glucose tolerance 16%. Although these results are not suggestive of pediatric type 2 diabetes epidemic in Serbia, high established prevalence of other disturbances in glucose homeostasis emphasizes the need for prevention and early treatment of obesity in order to avoid a decline in life expectancy in future generations of adults in Serbia.