What is type two diabetes and who’s most at risk?

Type two diabetes is the most common form of diabetes and can be contracted at any point in life but is much more common in adults than children. It’s a life-threatening condition which, when ignored or just not caught early enough can cause devastating complications and eventually death. Saying this though, the condition is manageable and most diabetics who make the suggested lifestyle changes go on to live long, full lives and miss out on very little. The trick is making those changes early enough and fully enough to save yourself from all of that potential nastiness.

Type two diabetes isn’t the same as type one, which is caused when the body attacks its own beta cells and destroys its only means of creating insulin. Type two diabetics still produce insulin but they’ve developed something known as insulin resistance which lessens the effectiveness of the hormone on the sugar in the blood, meaning less energy can be extracted and blood-sugar levels get progressively higher. This is how the damage is done and it can happen so gradually that many type two diabetics don’t realise they’ve got the disease until the damage is done. The trick is to be vigilant and lower your risk factor, especially if you’re in a high risk grouping.

The following are groups known to be at a high risk of contracting type two diabetes:

–                    The overweight or morbidly obese

–                    Those who rarely do any exercise and are largely inactive

–                    Genetic predisposition (family history)

–                    Certain ethnic groups (Native Americans, those of Caribbean or African descent and Hispanic people specifically)

–                    Having had yourself, or having had mother who suffered from gestational diabetes

–                    High blood pressure or the treatment for it

–                    Having a big baby (over nine pounds at birth)

–                    History of heart disease

–                    Having Polycystic ovaries