Type 2 diabetes among young Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis in the UK has been described as a "time bomb" waiting to explode by a University of Leicester professor.

Professor Kamlesh Khunti, a professor of Primary Care Diabetes, and a General Practioner in Leicester, made the comments following an in-depth study into the matter.

Generally, type 2 diabetes is associated with adults and is linked to obesity but over recent times there has been a trend of seeing more and more cases in children – some younger than 10 years old – and many more among the South Asian community.

Various screen tests over a period of time, across the UK, indicated that around two to four more cases of type 2 diabetes were found among the South Asian patients compared to the Whites.

According to Professor Khunti the results were not at all surprising when taking into consideration the 'make-up' of this ethnic grouping.

Professor Khunti said: "South Asians are naturally at a higher risk to type 2 diabetes, it's an issue of genetic make-up as well as environmental factors which relate to adopting a western lifestyle that include eating higher calories foods which is unlike the South Asian diet."

Such information will be especially alarming for the city of Leicester where approximately 30 per cent of the population comprises of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi descent.

A warning has now been issued for the young in these communities to make alterations in their lifestyles in order to combat this risk of diabetes.

"They need to change their environment and educate themselves about food. For example, instead of having chips everyday they need to limit this to once a week.

"Also there must be an emphasis on more exercise. It is recommended that an individual should exercise for 30 minutes a day, five times a week," said Professor Khunti.

Professor Khunti also added: "Exercise is even more important for people of South Asian descent because – although not yet proven – they require more exercise to feel the same benefits as members of the White community do."