By Ng Cheng Yee

PETALING JAYA: Like most teenagers, Nurul Rahimah Abu Bakar, 14, loves ice-cream, cakes and chocolates.

Once, she would have these desserts after dinner with her family.

However, such times are no more and the family now has more salad and vegetables on their dinner table, said her mother, Zalilah Selamat, 49.

The family had to change their eating habits after Nurul Rahimah, the youngest among four siblings, was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes (T2D).

The condition normally hits those in their 50s.

When Nurul Rahimah was 11, it dawned on Zalilah that her daughter could be a diabetic as she was constantly feeling thirsty and going to the washroom to ease herself at least twice every night.

Zalilah, a diabetic since she was 35, said her daughter was going through the same symptoms that she had previously gone through.

Zalilah, whose late father also had diabetes, said Nurul Rahimah's blood sample was sent to a laboratory in Australia for a detailed diagnosis.

The tests confirmed the teenager as a T2D.

"Since then, we have reduced the intake of processed food as Nurul Rahimah had to lose some weight," her mother said.

Zalilah said it was difficult initially for her daughter to follow the new diet "because my family just love and enjoy all types of food".

"However, she is now inspired to be more disciplined in controlling her diet after seeing good results in her blood sugar.

"As advised by her doctors, she has a more balanced meal made up of rice (25%), protein (25%) and vegetables (50%).

"She no longer takes sweet drinks and tries to avoid fast food," said Zalilah.

Another young patient, Muhammad Ridzwan Rodzi, 13, was overweight by 15kg when he was diagnosed with T2D in March last year.

"He was very much into playing video games and hardly spent time playing with his friends outside of the house," said his father Rodzi Mashor, 53.

"When he was diagnosed with the disease, his blood sugar level was very high.

"However, with oral medication and the injection of insulin three times a day, his condition has stabilised," Rodzi said, adding that his son also controlled his diet by eating less to lose weight.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai advised parents not to let their children eat unhealthy food round the clock as it could lead to T2D.

Parents should prepare nutritious food instead, he said.

He was commenting on The Star's front-page report on the increasing number of young T2D patients.

"Children enjoy fast food, so parents should educate them on cutting down burgers, nuggets, fries and carbonated drinks.

"Parents should inculcate a healthy diet from young," he told reporters after opening the Malaysian Dietitians? Association Scientific Conference here yesterday.

He said the National Health and Morbidity Survey conducted in 2006 showed that Malaysian adults with diabetes had increased from 8.3% in 1996 to 14.9% in 2006, while hypertension cases had increased from 29.9% to 43% and obesity from 4.4% to 14%