Diabetes risk rising among Gen Z

Type 2 diabetes is no longer a condition associated with middle aged people in India and it is now emerging at an alarming rate among young professionals in their 20s and early 30s. Doctors say that this shift is being driven less by age or heredity and more by modern lifestyle patterns marked by being inactive, having irregular or erratic meals, chronic stress and lack of sleep.

According to the state health department, at least 39 lakh people, or 13 per cent of Telangana's 3 crore population have diabetes.

And Hyderabad accounts for a sizable portion of this number. Telangana is one of the top four states with the highest rates of diabetes, according to a study presented to the Lok Sabha in December 2024.

“Diabetes is no longer strictly a disease of the 40s and 50s,” notes Dr Ravi Sankar Erukulapati, Senior Endocrinologist at Apollo Sugar Clinic, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad. “We are seeing patients in their late 20s and early 30s who appear healthy and have no family history, yet show insulin resistance. This is entirely due to modern habits which involve long desk hours, continuous screen exposure, late-night meals and sleep deprivation.”