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India’s Diabetes Crisis Is Skewing Younger, Prompting Calls for Early Screening

A Mumbai survey finds low awareness of sugar risks, underscoring warnings that pollution plus inactivity are speeding the shift to earlier disease.

Overview

  • Doctors report a sharp rise in early-onset type 2 cases in teens and people in their 20s, with one clinician treating a 12-year-old patient.
  • Global estimates place 589 million adults with diabetes, while Indian data show prevalence around 11 percent and more than 100 million affected.
  • BMC’s campaign data show only 27 percent awareness of excess-sugar dangers and 15.6 percent prediabetes in a 5,000-person survey, alongside extensive municipal screening.
  • Experts link the surge to sedentary routines, processed diets, stress and air pollution, noting PM2.5-related inflammation worsens insulin resistance and control.
  • Hospitals and public programs are scaling services with diabetic foot clinics, free specialized footwear, and insulin pumps for children, even as rural areas struggle with insulin storage and supply.