The three-year-old girl is one of the youngest people ever to have the type-2 form of the condition, according to her doctor.

Dr Michael Yafi, from Houston in Texas, said that when he made the diagnosis the anonymous girl tipped the scales at 35kg (5st 7lb).

He told the European Association for the Study of Diabetes conference in Stockholm that the family had "poor nutritional habits, with uncontrolled counting of calories and fat".

Both parents were obese, but there was no family history of diabetes.

The girl was given the drug metformin to bring her blood sugar under control.

Her parents were also told to control her food portion sizes, count calories and increase the amount of exercise she did.

Six months later the girl had lost 9kg (1st 7lb) and her blood sugar levels were within the healthy range.

Dr Yafi said the growing obesity epidemic meant doctors should be alert to lifestyle-related diabetes even in young children.

"Reversal of type-2 diabetes in children is possible by early screening of obese children, early diagnosis, appropriate therapy and lifestyle modification," he said.

Tam Fry of the UK's Child Growth Foundation told Sky News: "Fifteen years ago it was rare even for an adolescent to have type 2 diabetes.

"It was thought to be a mid-life disease.

"In those 15 years it has gone from being something that nobody got in childhood to being quite common at the age of 10.

"We have taken the eye off the ball in preventing obesity and none of this should happen."

Douglas Twenefour, clinical advisor at Diabetes UK, said that "probably less than 100" young children have been diagnosed with type-2 diabetes in the UK.

"This highlights how important it is that children get a healthy start to life, which includes a healthy diet and regular exercise," he said.

Later this year the Government will publish a new plan to tackle the one in five children who are now obese.

The strategy will include measures to stop children putting on weight over the summer holidays, when they're not being given portion-controlled meals at school.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "The obesity epidemic and particularly childhood obesity has now taken over as the biggest health challenge of our time and it's a challenge we are determined to rise to."

The blaze began in a paper flower shop on the floor below the kindergarten in Ningde City, in China's Fujian province. 

All 303 children were rescued, with some being hurled from windows onto blankets as smoke filled the building.

TV pictures also showed adults running from the building with children in their arms.

Some 92 children and 12 adults were taken to hospital and all are said to be in a stable condition.

Despite the chaos, firefighters were able to extinguish the fire in around half an hour.

The comedians Vovan and Lexus appeared on Russian TV to release the conversation, in which Sir Elton was asked to discuss gay rights.

Lexus, whose real name is Alexei Stolyarov, pretended to be Mr Putin, while Vovan acted as a translator.

Believing himself to be addressing Mr Putin through a translator, Sir Elton said: "Tell him that I am extremely honoured that he is calling me and that I am speaking to him.

"It's a great privilege to be able to speak to one of the most influential people in the whole world. It's amazing.

He added: "I am a musician and a philanthropic person and a humanitarian."

Asked what he thought were the most pressing issues in Russia, Sir Elton said: "I think the violence towards LGBT people.

"They don't feel safe. But this is something I don't really want to talk about over the phone.

"This is something I can have a dialogue with the president face-to-face.

"And I would welcome that because things get done better  when you see somebody and you meet them.

"If both our offices can find a convenient date when we can convene and have a really wonderful discussion, then that would be a miracle and it would be fantastic and it would be a dream come true."

Sir Elton posted on Instagram on Monday thanking the Russian president for "reaching out" to him and said he looked forward to a face-to-face meeting "to discuss LGBT equality".

And with that, three official witnesses to an execution were waved into Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

I was in a car along with Sister Helen Prejean, the author of Dead Man Walking and Richard Glossip's best friend, Kim Van Atta. 

Behind us were the two other witnesses who the death row inmate had requested, Crystal Martinez, another friend, and Kim Bellware from the Huffington Post.

So two friends, two journalists and a nun. 

Though the official briefing from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections had listed Kim Bellware and me as "friends" too.

I may be a reporter but I now consider Richard Glossip to be a friend. 

It was 11.30am and Richard Glossip was due to die in three-and-a-half hours. 

Sister Helen was optimistic. 

She felt that the attorneys who filed a motion for a stay of execution with the Court of Criminal Appeals had done a good job. 

I didn't believe her.The speed with which the Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin had rejected the new evidence had convinced me the execution would go ahead.

We were shown to a room with water and coffee, though not yet any cookies. 

We chatted. 

The mood was reasonably upbeat, given that was how Richard Glossip had been the night before. 

Sister Helen asked to use the bathroom.

I was about to broach the tentative subject of funeral arrangements with Crystal and Kim Van Atta when half a dozen men in suits walked into the room. 

Richard Glossip, 52, was due to face lethal injection in the death chamber at 3pm local time on Wednesday.

But the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals granted a request from his legal team for time to explore new evidence.

Glossip was twice convicted of the 1997 murder of Barry Van Treese, who owned the Oklahoma City motel where Glossip worked.

Justin Sneed, a handyman at the motel who admitted killing Van Treese with a baseball bat, said Glossip had paid him to do it.

Sky News reporter Ian Woods was invited by Glossip to witness him being put to death.

He described emotional scenes at Oklahoma State Penitentiary as the execution was put off to 30 September.

:: Tears And Hugs After Richard Glossip Reprieve

The case has featured on Sky News because of the unusual nature of the conviction.

There was no physical evidence linking Glossip to the crime, just the testimony of the teenager who escaped the death penalty in return for testifying against Glossip.