The standard test for diabetes may miss a lot of kids who have early signs of the disease, say Canadian researchers, who are calling for a new test that will catch the illness before it develops.

Researchers at McMaster University performed the standard diabetes blood test on more than 170 obese children, and only eight per cent had early signs of the disease.

However, when given a two-hour test, which measured their blood sugar after consuming a sugary drink, almost 25 per cent of the kids were found to be pre-diabetic.

Someone with pre-diabetes has elevated blood sugar-levels, which can be brought under control through diet and exercise if caught early.

However, if pre-diabetes is not detected and controlled, it can lead to type-2 diabetes.

"I think it's very important that families are aware that their children have pre-diabetes and missing two thirds of the kids is not a good approach," study author Dr. Katherine Morrison told CTV News.

Researchers say that detecting pre-diabetes in children is important to turning around their health fortunes.

Although the two-hour test is more costly and time-consuming, the researchers said it should become the standard way to test children.

"It is important to pick up the children with pre-diabetes in order to help the families prevent that from progression to type 2 diabetes," Morrison said.

Based on a report by CTV medical specialist Avis Favaro and senior producer Elizabeth St. Philip