Experts teach youngsters in city Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang province, the dangers of diabetes and how to prevent from it, on Wednesday, November 14, 2007. [Photo: northeast.com.cn]

Related: Over 20 Million Chinese Suffer Diabetes, More Eating Less Exercise to Blame

An increasing number of youngsters in city Harbin are getting caught by diabetes, a disease that mainly favored the elderly people in the past.

The bad news came against the United Nations World Diabetes Day which fell on Wednesday.

According to Northeast.com.cn, a leading news website in northeast China's Heilongjiang province, the number of youngster diabetes patients has kept a rate of 10 percent rise annually. Younger patients now account for 5 percent of all diabetic sufferers in the province. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes among youngsters is especially growing fast.

Experts point out that a child will have to go through many daily difficulties if get caught by diabetes. Instead of eating less junk fast food and snacks, drinking less soft drinks, watching less TV and playing fewer computer games, experts suggest children pick up regular outdoor exercise.

Also on Wednesday, China's Ministry of Health said that China currently has over 20 million diabetes patients, with another 20 million suffering from glucose intolerance, a pre-diabetic symptom.

Promotional campaigns and information sessions were also held in Harbin and many other Chinese cities.