A big fat problem: Childhood obesity and diabetes on the rise in Hong Kong

At nearly 81kg, Fanny Lai Yuk-fan weighs the same as her daughter. The problem: the former is a middle-aged housewife and the latter is only 15 years old.

The teen suffers from type 2 diabetes, which she's had since the age of nine.

Although her daughter knows she has the disease, she doesn't believe her weight is a big deal, Lai says. "Every time we take her to the doctor, she resists," says Lai. "She won't talk to the doctor but then she'll throw a tantrum afterwards. The whole process is exhausting. Being her mother has always been tiring."

The case of Lai's family is symptomatic of a widespread and growing problem of diabetes afflicting younger people in Hong Kong - more often than not those who are obese, statistics show. But on top of the public health concern, there is an economic and emotional cost to this alarming trend. Lai says the disease has placed a strain on her family's relationships.

"She was always fat, even before being diagnosed, so I already had to keep an eye on her diet," Lai says. "But sometimes her father and his side of the family don't agree with me. Her father would play the good guy; that means I'm the bad one. They always think I control her life too much, because I supervise her studies as well as her diet."