Attention parents: Now is the time to eliminate your children’s fatty snacks, fast food and hours in front of the television playing PS3. An article published in Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, suggests that obese children are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes and other serious health issues, such as blindness and kidney failure. It’s estimated that 21 percent of black children are obese.

“Recent studies suggest that there have been dramatic increases in type 2 diabetes among individuals in their 20s and 30s, whereas it used to be that individuals developed type 2 diabetes in their late 50s or 60s. This may be the first indication of a type 2 diabetes epidemic among young adults who were obese during childhood,” says head researcher, Joyce Lee, MD from the University of Michigan..

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests diabetic screenings for the entire family, a healthier lifestyle and possible drug regimens to deal with this issue.

Read more about childhood obesity here: