SEATTLE - Type 2 diabetes is an adult disease that's taking a toll on more and more children.

It presents challenges to kids like 10-year-old Tyrel Cummings.

For him, it can be plain annoying

"Now I can't have cake unless I take insulin. I can't have pie unless I take insulin. I can't have bread if I don't take insulin," Cummings said.

Tyrel's mom gives him insulin shots every day. The insulin his own body makes needs the extra help to turn sugar from food into energy.

He was diagnosed in January after a teacher alerted his mom to a common symptom of the disease.

"He was going to the bathroom a lot," said Shellise Montgomery. "And she was kind of concerned about it.

Tyrel also had constant fatigue, and another telltale sign: skin darkening around his neck.

Though it runs in his family, his mother was blindsided by his diagnosis.

 "I was devastated," she said. "Because I was like, 'oh how is this happening to him?'"

A major study that tracked diabetes rates in children found 3,700 kids ages 10 and up are diagnosed with type 2 each year.

The disease was considered non-existent in children a generation ago.

Endocrinologist Matt Davies treats type 2 diabetes at Minor and James Medical. He's affiliated with Swedish Medical Center.

"This is an emerging issue, as obesity in children becomes a much more prominent issue," he said.

Davies fears kids like Tyrel are the tip of the iceberg. 

As they develop type 2 diabetes they risk early heart attack, stroke, blindness, and kidney disease.

Now with his mom's help, Tyrel is seeing a nutritionist, a psychologist, and getting more exercise.

Davies says any exercise helps.

"Using your muscles is like wringing water out of a sponge so you can soak up a bunch of sugar all over again," he said.

And Tyrel has a new dream for his future.

"I could probably not have diabetes," he said.

Experts say dramatic recovery is possible if a child makes significant changes in diet and exercise.

Dr. Davies says kids need the support of their families, schools and communities to make the changes that will reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity.