Diabetes is a disease in which the body cannot adequately process glucose (blood sugar) for energy. It was once rare among children but is becoming more common. More than a third of Americans born in 2000 will eventually develop diabetes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Children can develop type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes. Type 1 was once commonly called juvenile-onset diabetes, and type 2 diabetes was often referred to as adult-onset diabetes. However, type 2 diabetes is increasingly being seen in children because of rising rates of childhood obesity due to poor diet and lack of exercise. These same factors can cause a child with type 1 diabetes to develop double diabetes.

Other pediatric forms of diabetes include maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY), which may be diagnosed in adolescents, and Wolfram syndrome, a rare genetic condition. Some children develop secondary diabetes due to conditions including cystic fibrosis or Down syndrome. A rare disorder called Mauriac syndrome (diabetic dwarfism) afflicts some diabetic children.

People with type 1 diabetes or Wolfram syndrome require insulin therapy several times a day. People with type 2 or other forms of diabetes may be treated with diet and exercise alone, or they may require antidiabetic agents and insulin. Additional therapies are being developed.

The U.S. government has launched a massive study of diabetes and children. Other research projects are also under way to assess the scope of diabetes in children and to prevent, diagnose and treat it.