What was claimed
Ten years ago no child had type 2 diabetes.
Our verdict
Incorrect. At least 328 under 18s in England were found to have type 2 diabetes in 2009, though that study was not comprehensive.
This claim about children with diabetes is completely wrong
“Ten years ago no child had [type 2 diabetes]”
Daily Express, 22 November 2018
This is incorrect. In March 2009 the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health published some research for the NHS and found 328 under 18s in England had type 2 diabetes. 134 were under the age of 15, and 6 of those were under the age of 10.
The research said it was unlikely to have identified all children with type 2 diabetes in England, but it’s definitely wrong to say there were none.
We’ve written more about reporting on the number of children with diabetes in our blog here.
The Express has since removed the line from their piece.
We took a stand for good information.
We got in touch to request a correction regarding a claim made in The Express.
They made a correction.