Warning over alarming 70% surge in type 2 diabetes among Gen Z women

Experts have raised the alarm over a dramatic surge in type 2 diabetes among Gen Z women.  

Diagnoses of the life-threatening condition have jumped almost 70 per cent among women in England aged 20-29 over the last decade, a major study has found.

This is far higher than the leap for 20-something men, who saw an increase of around 43 per cent.

Meanwhile, diagnoses in Britons aged between 60 and 79 decreased - although this group still makes up the majority of patients with type 2 diabetes in England.

The study, published in the journal Lancet Regional Health, found that the waistlines of women under 30 have grown larger than any other group since 2011.

The average body mass index (BMI) of female diabetics in this age group grew from 37.7 to a morbidly obese score of 40.7. 

Experts warned that the data are particularly worrying given that type 2 diabetes among under 40s – known as early-onset diabetes - is generally more aggressive,  leading to dangerous complications. 

They added that the findings suggest that Government anti-obesity measures are not reaching younger generations.

'Earlier and more intensive interventions addressing diet, physical activity, and the wider determinants of severe obesity are needed,' warned the authors, from Imperial College London.

More than four million people in the UK have type 2 diabetes, a chronic condition in which the body does not respond properly to the hormone insulin or cannot produce enough of it, causing blood sugar levels to become dangerously high. 

Left unmanaged, the disease – often triggered by obesity – increases the risk of serious complications like heart disease, stroke, blindness and limb amputation. 

Waistlines in Britain have been expanding for decades, with two-thirds of adults now overweight or obese – classed as having a BMI of more than 25.

Previous research has found that the proportion of UK women with obesity has almost doubled in the UK among women, rising from 16.4 per cent to 30 per cent since 1993.

The new research aimed to analyse how diagnosis rates for type 2 diabetes have changed over time. 

Scientists looked at NHS records covering those diagnosed with type 2 diabetes across England between 2011 and 2024.

They compared annual diagnosis rates by age, sex and ethnicity and examined patients' BMI at the time of diagnosis.

Among women aged 20 to 29, the annual diagnosis rate sat at around 26 per 100,000 women in 2011.

By 2024, this increased to 44 per 100,000.

This is a surge of 69 per cent over the course of the study period.

Diagnoses in 30 to 39-year-old men and women also increased, though not as sharply as in the younger cohort.

However, 60 to 79 year-old men saw diagnoses drop by around seven per cent.

For women the figure was four per cent.

Despite the rise among younger adults, people over 60 continued to have the highest diagnosis rates overall.

The researchers posed that women may be more likely to have type 2 diabetes picked up by doctors as they face more interaction with healthcare providers than men, for instance during pregnancy. 

Dr Shivani Misra, clinical associate professor at Imperial College London and lead author, said of the findings: 'We think that the earlier onset of severe obesity in young people is increasing their type 2 diabetes risk in early life and pulling down their age at diagnosis.

'This is really worrying given the poor health outcomes from early-onset type 2 diabetes and as numbers increase, we need to think about implementing effective treatments as early as possible.' 

Asked about the role of GLP-1 drugs such as Mounjaro, Ozempic and Wegovy – which have been used for weight-loss and diabetes – Dr Misra said they should not be seen as a silver bullet.

She said: 'GLP-1 medications are one component of tackling rising type 2 diabetes in young adults.

'There is still insufficient research on whether using GLP-1 drugs at scale in adolescents and young adults with obesity can  prevent type 2 diabetes.'

Helen Kirrane, head of policy, campaigns and mobilisation at Diabetes UK, said: 'The rise in type 2 diabetes among younger adults is deeply concerning.

'Any diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is serious, but it can be more aggressive in younger people, increasing the risk of devastating complications and cutting lives short.'