How do you get kidney problems at a young age? 17...

Depends: Young people can get kidney infections or stones. They can have problems such as cysts or inflammation (glomerulonephritis) or tumors.

By inheriting them.: Many of the problems young people have, incl. kidney problems, can passed down through a family. If someone has something no one's had before, it may be because of the union of genes from both their mom and their dad. Or maybe because of exposure to something before birth or earlier in life. But how you, yourself, got what you have can only be told to you by your own Doctor.

Long list: Sadly age doesnt protect against kidney disease, just the causes are different. Adults DM and HTN are most common and in younger adults, primary glomerular disease, reflux, abnormal urogenital tract, to name a few. Seek care with a pediatric Nephrologist. Best of luck.