Children aged between 10 and 18 were admitted to hospital 181 times in2007/08 as a result of type two diabetes, figures made public inParliament last week showed.
This represents a 28 per cent rise on the 2006/07 figure of 141.
Admissions for children under 10 fell slightly from 32 in 2006/07 to 29in 2007/08.
Most children and adults who develop type two diabetes areoverweight.
A spokesman for Diabetes UK said: "Type two diabetes in children wasvirtually unheard of 10 years ago.
"The fact it is being diagnosed in younger and younger children shows weneed to raise awareness of the issue of childhood obesity."
People who have type two diabetes are able to produce insulin but theirbody doesn't respond to it normally.
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