The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) project that as many as 220,000 people under the age of 20 with Type 2 diabetes by 2060.

If the predictions are accurate, it will represent a nearly 700% jump in young Americans suffering from the condition.

Type 1 diabetes, the most common type in younger people, is also expected to climb by 65% during that period, according to the study.

Overall, the number of young Americans suffering from all forms of the disease could top half a million over the next four decades.

Dr. Colleen Buggs-Saxton, a pediatric endocrinologist at Wayne State University, explained that despite the well-known link between obesity and Type 2 diabetes, “we have not made any progress to really decrease” the risk of the condition manifesting in children.

As previously reported in The Dallas Express, child obesity rates have been on the rise for years, especially in Texas, where more than 20% of children between the ages of 10 and 17 were designated as obese just a couple of years ago.

Dr. Luohua Jiang, a diabetes researcher at the University of California, Irvine, said the “very alarming” figures need to be addressed.

“It’ll be very critical to educate American youth regarding healthy lifestyles and potential ways to prevent diabetes in their early lives in order to ‘flatten the curve’ for the quickly rising number of youth with diabetes among the underserved/minority populations,” she said.

Over 34 million Americans suffer from diabetes, with roughly 2.7 million residing in Texas — or more than 10% of people living in the state, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.

Type 1 diabetes typically emerges at an earlier age. It results from the pancreas producing insufficient insulin.

Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, is usually the result of lifestyle choices like poor nutrition and a lack of exercise. While children are currently more likely to have Type 1, as obesity rates rise among young people, Type 2 is expected to become more prevalent among them.

Between 2017 and 2020, nearly one out of five American children and teens were considered obese, a significant risk factor for developing Type 2 diabetes. The severity of the obesity epidemic among children has even led to expanded BMI charts, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.

Debra Houry, acting principal deputy director at the CDC, said the study “should serve as a wake-up call.” This is especially true for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which ranked the 19th most obese and overweight metro area in the United States.

“It’s vital that we focus our efforts to ensure all Americans, especially our young people, are the healthiest they can be,” Houry said.

In many cases, maintaining a good diet and exercising to manage weight can help lower the chances of developing Type 2 diabetes. Even those that have suffered from the condition for many years can experience remission through weight loss.

For some children, explained Buggs-Saxton, diet and exercise could be helpful but insufficient. In these instances, medication may be needed to help control the disease. She said that these medications must be made available to all children who need them.

“It’s very unsettling that our health care system makes it very difficult to prescribe medical treatment that has been approved to help children who are obese, especially those who are most vulnerable,” said Buggs-Saxton.

To make matters worse, some diabetics have recently reported difficulty procuring medication to treat their condition. The weight loss drug Wegovy, a rebranded version of the diabetic medication Ozempic, has seen a surge in popularity. Demand for the drug has led to a shortage impacting diabetics across the United States.