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Nearly One-Third of U.S. Adolescents Have Prediabetes, CDC Finds

Early screening alongside healthier habits can reverse elevated blood sugar, reducing type 2 diabetes risk

CORRECTS DAY/DATE TO FRIDAY, FEB. 10, 2023 INSTEAD OF SATURDAY, FEB. 11 - Seventh graders sit together in the cafeteria during their lunch break at a public school, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. A 2010 federal law that boosted nutrition standards for school meals may have helped curb obesity among America’s children _ even teenagers who can buy their own snacks, according to a study published Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
The campus of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is seen as a meeting of the Advisory Committee in Immunization Practices takes place, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
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Overview

  • CDC analysis of NHANES data from 2017 to 2023 shows 32.7% of 12- to 17-year-olds—about 8.4 million teens—meet prediabetes criteria
  • Prediabetes in youth significantly raises the likelihood of progressing to type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke without intervention
  • Research suggests 45% to 75% of adolescents may return to normal glucose levels after puberty, highlighting a critical prevention window
  • American Diabetes Association guidelines call for testing teens with high BMI plus family history or other risk factors to catch prediabetes early
  • New adult diabetes diagnoses stalled in 2023 at roughly 1.5 million cases after more than a decade of decline