Millions of seemingly healthy teenagers are at risk of deadly heart failure due to poor diets and lack of exercise, experts have warned.
Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland found that teens with elevated blood sugar levels were significantly more likely to have an enlarged heart.
The condition, called ventricular hypertrophy, weakens the organ’s ability to pump blood effectively, dramatically increasing the chances of a fatal cardiac arrest.
Professor Andrew Agbaje, from the University of Eastern Finland, said they found even healthy-looking teens and young adults, of a normal weight, may still be at risk.
The team analysed 1,595 volunteers, aged 17 to 24, from the University of Bristol’s Children of the 90s cohort—a long-running study tracking the health of thousands born in the early 1990s.
They measured blood sugar levels to investigate whether raised glucose could trigger metabolic changes linked to harmful alterations in heart structure.
Previous research has shown that high blood sugar in youth is a strong predictor of type 2 diabetes—a condition that doubles heart attack risk—in later life.
Now, for the first time, evidence suggests that damage to the heart may start earlier, even before diabetes is diagnosed.
Eating or drinking too much sugar could start to damage your heart at a young age, experts warn
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
Worryingly, the study found that youngsters with a persistent fasting blood sugar level of 5.6mmol/L or higher—still below the NHS threshold for diabetes—were at a 46 per cent greater risk of developing left ventricular hypertrophy.
Whilst the condition itself does not cause symptoms, it can put strain on the heart resulting in chest pain, shortness of breath and heart palpitations.
Left untreated, this can cause abnormal heart rhythms which can lead to cardiac arrest and sudden death.
Other factors that influence heart health—including family history of cardiovascular disease, smoking, and levels of physical activity—were also taken into account.
Prof Agbaje suggested his team’s findings ‘underscore the critical importance of lifestyle, behaviour and dietary habits, especially after adolescents have become independent from their family.
‘The findings further confirm that even healthy-looking adolescents and young adults who are mostly normal weight may be on a path towards cardiovascular diseases, if they have high blood glucose and insulin resistance.
‘Surprisingly, we observed that high blood sugar may aggressively damage females’ hearts five times faster than males’—therefore, special attention should be paid to girls in terms of prevention,’ he added.
Once considered a disease of middle and older age, type 2 diabetes is increasingly common in young people.
In the UK, about 168,000 people under 40 years old currently live with the condition, which also increases the risk of kidney failure, strokes and blindness.
Of this group, a significant portion are children and young adults.
The number of young people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes has been on the rise, with a 40 per cent increase observed between 2016 and 23.
The NHS advises avoiding too much sugary food, findings ways to manage stress and exercising regularly to try to stop blood sugar levels getting too high.
