Until just a few years ago, diabetes in children was primarily considered to be type 1 diabetes, the autoimmune form that leads to a permanent deficiency in insulin secretion. Type 2 diabetes, which is characterized by insulin resistance and a relative deficiency of insulin relative to the body’s needs, was considered a condition exclusive to adults. However, as obesity has become a public health issue in the industrialized world—and among children in particular—type 2 diabetes is now a condition that can be encountered in pediatric practice and must be distinguished from type 1 diabetes. Thus, the most recent U.S. national study estimated—albeit imprecisely—that fewer than 1.5 per 1,000 adolescents aged 12 to 19 had type 2 diabetes between 1988 and 1994. France is not spared from this phenomenon. As the prevalence of obesity among children living in France rises, pediatric teams are reporting their first diagnoses. Diabetes among French children may well be underreported, misclassified, or unreported. The implementation of the national nutrition prevention program is the first step in combating the onset of type 2 diabetes in children in France. (adapted from the text)