Experts have discovered a simple blood test that could predict whether a child will go on to develop diabetes and heart disease in young adulthood.
The Danish scientists say offering the check in early years could flag up youngsters most at risk of obesity-related conditions and offer them treatment faster.
The experimental test looks for substances called lipids in the blood. The most well-known blood lipid is cholesterol, which is famously linked to heart disease.
However previous research by the same group found there are thousands of different lipids — also known as fatty acids — with different functions in the body.
High levels of some of these lipids are linked to increased risk of diabetes and heart disease — and in the new study, these levels were found to begin spiking in childhood.
Danish scientists say offering the check in early years could flag up youngsters most at risk of obesity-related conditions and offer them treatment faster
Almost 4.3 million people were living with diabetes in 2021/22, according to the latest figures for the UK. And another 850,000 people have diabetes and are completely unaware of it, which is worrying because untreated type 2 diabetes can lead to complications including heart disease and strokes
The findings could help tackle the rising tide of type 2 diabetes in young people —why recent data shows a 39 per cent increase in under 40s developing the blood sugar disease.
There are also increasing numbers of fatal heart attacks in under 75s.
Dr Karolina Sulek, study author who performed the analysis at the Steno Diabetes Centre Copenhagen, said: ‘Early recognition of children at risk for these life-threatening diseases is crucial.
‘The study provides strong evidence of the great need for obesity management and gives parents confidence to intervene in their children’s life more compassionately, helping them to lose weight.’
In the study, researchers assessed blood fat levels in 184 children with an average age of 11, all of whom were classed as overweight or obese.
All were enrolled in the Holbaek-model — a programme for people with obesity, popular in Denmark.
Over a follow-up of a year they discovered their levels of fatty acids reduced, decreasing their risk of diabetes and blood pressure.
Writing in the journal Nature Medicine, they said the results showed increasing lipid levels in the blood can be reversed.
Dr Cristina Legido-Quigley, one of the study authors, based at King’s College London, said: ‘For decades, scientists have relied on a classification system for lipids that have split them into good and bad cholesterol.
‘But now with a simple blood test we can assess a much broader range of lipid molecules that could serve as vital early warning signs for illness.
‘In the future, this has the potential to be an entirely new way to evaluate someone’s personal risk of disease and by studying how to change lipid molecules in the body, we could even prevent metabolic diseases like diabetes altogether.’
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body doesn’t make enough insulin or the insulin it makes doesn’t work properly.
This hormone is needed to bring down blood sugar levels.
Having high blood sugar levels over time can cause heart attacks and strokes, as well as problems with the eyes, kidneys and feet.
Sufferers may need to overhaul their diet, take daily medication and have regular check-ups.
Symptoms of the condition, which is diagnosed with a blood test, include excessive thirst, tiredness and needing to urinate more often. But many people have no signs.
Almost 4.3million people were living with diabetes in 2021/22, according to the latest figures for the UK.
Approximately 90 per cent of diabetes cases are type 2 diabetes, which is linked with obesity and is typically diagnosed in middle age, rather than type 1 diabetes, a genetic condition usually identified early in life.
