Type 2 diabetes happens because the hormone insulin does not do its job in managing sugar metabolism properly. Although type 2 diabetes causes are not exactly known, it is known that those who are overweight or obese are much more likely to suffer from type 2 diabetes, as are those who do not participate in enough physical activity. And although obesity and overweight are often coexistent with type 2 diabetes, those who suffer from type 2 diabetes are not always overweight.

What is also known is that type 2 diabetes accounts for almost 95% of the diabetes cases in the United States, with 5% suffering from type 1 diabetes, whereby the insulin producing cells (islets of Langerhans) simply stop working or are destroyed. And what that means is that almost 95% of diabetes cases in the United States are probably preventable.

What puts you at risk for developing type 2 diabetes?

For the normal person, the pancreas releases insulin so that your body can store and use sugar properly from the food you eat. With type 2 diabetes, you are insulin resistant, meaning that your body produces insulin but it’s either not enough or can’t be used properly.

What causes type 2 diabetes?

Experts are still at a loss to determine exactly why type 2 diabetes happens, but they do know what happens to a large extent. Under normal circumstances, when you eat, the amount of blood glucose is regulated by the insulin hormone. Insulin is released as needed from your pancreas to control blood sugar levels. When blood sugar levels rise to a certain amount, the pancreas will release more insulin to take care of that and push the glucose into the cells, where it can be used. And with that, glucose levels in your blood then drop. As part of the cycle, when your blood sugar gets low enough, you get hungry, your body tells you to eat, and this rebuilds the blood glucose stores (normally kept in the liver), thus continuing the cycle.

When you have type 2 diabetes, you either can’t make enough of the insulin needed to regulate glucose, or your body’s cells can’t use it properly. You are diagnosed as having diabetes when your blood glucose level is 126 mg per deciliter after you’ve fasted overnight. (This process is done as part of the diagnosis.)

Again, although type 2 diabetes’ causes are not entirely understood, experts believe that there’s a strong genetic link and that it runs in families. You are more at risk of developing diabetes if one or more of the following is true of you:

*  Someone in your family has developed type 2 diabetes
*  You are overweight or obese
*  Your lifestyle is sedentary
*  You are African American, Hispanic, Japanese, or Native American (these ethnic groups are known to have a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than non-Hispanic whites)
*  You are older; around age of 45 come risk of developing diabetes increases, and it goes significantly up once you turn about 65
*  You eat a high-fat diet
*  You have high blood pressure
*  You have high triglyceride levels in your blood
*  You drink a lot of alcohol

So in general, if you have an unhealthy lifestyle with any of the above factors included (or more than one), you are at greater risk of developing diabetes, and you are at somewhat greater risk if your ethnicity is one of the above listed groups.

Although you can’t change your family history or ethnicity when it comes to controlling risk factors for diabetes, you can certainly change your own lifestyle. To that end, eat right, exercise, and see your doctor if you have any health factors that put you at risk of developing diabetes, including high blood pressure. Remember, type 2 diabetes can be controlled with proper medication and diet, even if it cannot be cured.