Age of puberty for boys, too, linked to diabetes risk later in life

Some risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes are clear. Being overweight as an adult is one of them, and early puberty for girls is another. The picture hasn’t been so sharp for boys, in part because there’s no marker as clear as a girl’s first period. A new study pinning puberty to a boy’s growth spurt found timing to be important. Among more than 30,000 men followed from childhood into late adulthood, boys had a 16% increased risk of  diabetes by age 57 for each year earlier that puberty took place and boys who entered puberty later than age 15 had a 30% lower chance. A high BMI before and after puberty could contribute to the risk, the researchers said, but it doesn’t explain it all.