According to records kept by The Swedish Child Diabetes Register the incidence of childhood diabetes type I before 15 years of age has increased. The increase is most noticeable in children before the age of 5. The genetic basis of this disease is complex and the different risk genes have a low penetrance, thus indicating non-genetic factors to have a great impact. One risk factor for type I diabetes is rapid growth, measured either as weight or as height gain. As a high standard of living favours rapid growth in children this may contribute to the onset of the disease.