Case of type 2 diabetes possibly caused by excessive accumulation of visceral fat in a child born small‐for‐gestational age

Abstract

Abstract We encountered a 12‐year‐old boy with type 2 diabetes who was born small‐for‐gestational age. We described his clinical characteristics and a possible etiological factor for development of hyperglycemia. He developed well with sufficient nutrition and progressed to being overweight at 6 years‐of‐age as a result of a high‐calorie, high‐protein intake diet. He showed a diabetic pattern with a normal insulin response on an oral glucose tolerance test carried out with the urine glucose screening program at schools. He showed a large total fat area of 239.4 cm2; in particular, his visceral fat area was 103.0 cm2 with a high ratio of visceral fat area to subcutaneous fat area (0.76). The present case might show that insulin resistance, possibly as a result of accumulation of a great amount of visceral fat, might be attributed to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes in children born small‐for‐gestational age.

Keywords

• Small‐for‐gestational age
• Type 2 diabetes
• Visceral fat