Texas Childhood Diabetes Lawyer

Lawsuits have been filed for children who were diagnosed with type-2 diabetes after eating ultra-processed foods.

Need a Texas Childhood Diabetes Lawyer? Collen A. Clark is a true advocate for his clients and is passionate about helping Texans that have been injured or wronged. If you or your child were diagnosed with type-2 diabetes from eating ultra-processed food, you should contact our lawyers immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a lawsuit.

What Are Ultra-Processed Foods?

Ultra-processed foods are edible products that contain ingredients that you would not normally recognize as food. The ingredient list will have substances you would never use at home.

These ingredients are highly-modified from the original “whole food.” Ultra-processed foods often contain multiple additives, such as preservatives, sweeteners, artificial flavors, and dyes.

Ultra-processed foods are usually small in size, high in calories, easy to digest. They may have high levels of refined sugars, simple carbohydrates, and unhealthy fats, but little nutrition (unless nutrients are added back into the product, as is the case with enriched flour).

What Happens When You Eat Ultra-Processed Food?

Eating these foods is tasty and addictive, but they do not leave you feeling full for long. The highly-refined sugar and fast-digesting simple carbohydrates “spike” blood-sugar levels, but hunger quickly returns.

This can quickly lead to overeating, or trigger more unhealthy eating. When this is a habitual part of a person’s diet, it can lead to weight-gain and obesity, which is a significant risk-factor for type-2 diabetes.

What Else Is In Ultra-Processed Food?

Most ultra-processed foods also have additives like colors or dyes, emulsifiers, preservatives, thickeners, flavor enhancers, or artificial sweeteners.

Ultra-processed foods are typically ready-to-eat out of the package, and they have a long shelf-life, which is convenient for consumers, and more profitable for manufacturers and retailers.

The additives enhance the taste of an ultra-processed food, making it very tasty (and hard to resist eating more), while also improving the texture so it resembles a traditional food that is made with minimally-processed ingredients.

How To Maximize Profits With Unhealthy Food

Ultra-processed foods are manufactured to maximize profits. They are mass-produced on an industrial scale, aggressively advertised (especially to children), made with inexpensive ingredients, and designed to sit on a shelf for months or years without going bad.

Type-2 Diabetes in Children

Childhood diabetes, also called “juvenile diabetes,” is a medical condition that occurs when the body does not make enough insulin, or use insulin properly, which leads to high blood sugar levels. Over time, high blood-sugar levels can cause health problems all over the body, damaging the blood vessels, nerves, eyes, kidneys, heart, brain, and other parts of the body.

Examples of Common Ultra-Processed Foods

Some of the most common ultra-processed foods for children include:

• Sugary breakfast cereals
• White bread
• Soda and sweetened beverages
• Packages of cookies, snack cakes, and chips
• Snack bars
• Frozen meals and pizza
• Processed meats (hot dogs, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, etc.)
• Candy
• Condiments

Lawmakers Propose Diabetes Warning Labels on Junk Food

The risk of childhood diabetes is so serious that lawmakers have proposed requiring warning labels on ultra-processed foods and other “unhealthy” junk foods with excessive levels of sugar, fat, or sodium.

The act was called the Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act of 2024, and the proposed warning label would read: “Food and Drug Administration Warning: Consuming ultra-processed foods and drinks can cause weight gain, which increases the risk of obesity and type-2 diabetes.”

Symptoms of Type-2 Diabetes

Children with type-2 diabetes may have symptoms, such as:

• Frequent urination
• Excessive thirst
• Increased hunger
• Weight-loss despite increased appetite
• Fatigue (unusually tired or sleepy)
• Slow-healing sores
• Blurred vision
• Irritability or mood changes
• Nausea and vomiting

Study Links Ultra-Processed Food and Childhood Diabetes

Eating ultra-processed food has been linked to a higher risk of obesity, which is a risk-factor for type-2 diabetes, according to recent studies.

In July 2024, a study linked ultra-processed food with a significantly increased risk of diabetes. Higher rates of diabetes were linked to more consumption of certain types of processed food:

• Sugar- and artificially sweetened beverages linked to 29% higher risk of diabetes
• Ultra-processed meats linked to 21% higher risk of diabetes
• Sugary snacks linked to 16% higher risk of diabetes

Childhood Diabetes Lawsuits

Lawsuits accuse major food companies of using similar strategies as Big Tobacco to sell ultra-processed food to children. These companies are accused of engineering food to be addictive, similar to cigarettes.

The companies who sell ultra-processed foods are accused of engineering extremely tasty foods that were designed to maximize cravings, entice people to consume the product, and buy more.

One of the most important strategies these companies used was aggressive advertising, much of it targeted toward children with cartoon characters, bright colors, fruity flavors, child actors, catchy songs, and advertising during TV shows kids would be watching.

What Do Lawsuits Claim?

Lawsuits claim that food-makers misled parents about the dangers of ultra-processed foods for children, including type-2 diabetes and other long-term health risks, like obesity or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

How Can a Lawsuit Help?

Tragically, many of these children are now suffering from diabetes and other health problems. If your child was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease after routinely eating ultra-processed foods, you may be eligible to seek justice by filing a lawsuit.

Need a Childhood Diabetes Lawyer in Texas?

Collen A. Clark is a true advocate for his clients and is passionate about helping Texans that have been injured or wronged.

Collen’s amazing success in the courtroom and well known dedication to his clients has earned him the recognition of his peers as one of The Top Trial Lawyers in Texas.”

The Clark Firm has assembled a team of trial lawyers with more than 100 years of experience, participation in over 600 jury trials, and $260 million in verdicts and/or settlements. Please use the form below to contact our law firm for a free case review.