Type 2 diabetes is no longer a disease affecting only adults, with cases now being detected among Malaysians as young as 14 years old, signalling a worrying rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among the country’s youth.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said data from the National Diabetes Registry (NDR) showed a persistent upward trend, with 1,926 new cases involving individuals under 30 recorded in 2024, rising to 1,932 cases in 2025. Another 660 new cases were reported in the first six months of 2026.
“The findings show that many young people have underlying risk factors or non-communicable diseases without realising it. We are now seeing individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes as young as 14,” he told the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday.
He was responding to a question from Datuk Dr Richard Rapu @ Aman Begri (GPS-Betong) on the latest NCD statistics among youths below 30 and the effectiveness of the government’s War on Sugar campaign and sugar tax in reducing obesity.
Dzulkefly said the National Health Screening Initiative (NHSI) 2025 further highlighted the growing health concern after screening 347,813 individuals aged between 18 and 30.
Of the total, 11,751 individuals, or 3.4%, were found to have elevated blood glucose levels, while 30,170 people, or 8.8%, recorded high blood pressure despite 98.1% of participants having no prior history of NCDs.
In response, the Health Ministry is shifting its healthcare delivery model from treating illness to preventive healthcare by prioritising early detection and lifestyle intervention programmes.
On the effectiveness of the sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax introduced in July 2019, Dzulkefly said the policy had produced encouraging results, with sugary drink consumption among adolescents falling from 36.9% to 16.4%.
The National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2022 also recorded a decline in the prevalence of daily carbonated drink consumption from 36.9% in 2019 to 32.4% in 2022.
Following the positive outcome, the government increased the SSB tax by 10 sen on Jan 1, 2024, before raising it by a further 40 sen to the current rate of RM0.90 per litre from Jan 1, 2025.
Dzulkefly said the ministry will collaborate with UNICEF to assess the effectiveness of the higher sugar tax in 2027, three years after the first tax revision.
He added that efforts to curb excessive sugar intake are also being strengthened through the Strategic Plan to Reduce Sugar Consumption Among Malaysians 2024–2030, which incorporates behavioural science and nudging approaches.
Key initiatives under the plan include the KiBaR (Calculate, Burn, Record) programme, the Healthier Choice Logo (HCL), the Nutri-Grade labelling system and the Healthy Dining Programme at food premises.
