Among the known types of diabetes, Type 2 diabetes is considered the most common. This condition is described as the body’s inability to produce enough insulin or the presence of cells that ignore insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is necessary to the process of getting energy from food, in breaking down all the sugars and starches into glucose. Glucose is what fuels cell functions. The role of insulin is to deliver glucose into the cells. However, having too much glucose in the blood can lead to serious cell damage. Very high glucose levels are usually caused by lack of insulin, which may result in eye, kidney, nerve and heart problems. With the ever increasing number of people suffering from Type 2 diabetes, there has been a necessity to promote awareness on its common risk factors. That information will be useful in the prevention, treatment and management of the disease.
The good news about Type 2 diabetes is that it is preventable. With a healthy lifestyle, well-balanced diet and regular exercise, people can minimize their risk of developing this disease. However, people who fall under the category of diabetes top risk factors must take greater caution for they are highly likely to develop Type 2 diabetes.
Obesity is at the top of the type 2 diabetes risk factors list. According to the National Center for Health and Statistics, 30 percent of the country’s adult population or about 60 million Americans are obese. Having greater weight increases your diabetes risk because fat tends to interfere with the body’s ability to use insulin.
Living a sedentary lifestyle is another thing that raises your chance of suffering Type 2 diabetes. Not only that, a sedentary lifestyle somewhat bears the responsibility for the ever growing obesity problem. Lack of physical activities causes the body to have more insulin receptors than fat cells. Also, exercise helps lower blood glucose, which makes insulin more effective. Hence, the only way to decrease insulin resistance is by doing regular exercise.
Poor eating habits are accounted as a major contributor to developing Type 2 diabetes. It also contributes largely to obesity, which is directly linked to diabetes. Having too much fat and not enough fiber is bad for the health. One of the effective ways of reversing the symptoms and preventing diabetes is by eating right. In addition, poor diet can lead to high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. High blood pressure and poor cholesterol levels bring the hallmarks of the risk factors to virtually all lifestyle diseases, including diabetes.
Family medical history and genetics also have a great influence on your risk of developing diabetes. If you have family members diagnosed with the disease, you are also likely to develop diabetes. A number of studies have agreed that race has something to do with Type 2 diabetes risk factors. African Americans, Hispanic-Americans and Native Americans have shown higher risks than the normal rate. This fact is only based on the commonality of diabetic cases. Hence, these factors are not considered in the diagnosis.
Old age could be a reason for one’s increase in Type 2 diabetes risk. As we age, our pancreas ages. At a certain point in time, our pancreas is bound to fail to efficiently pump insulin into our system. On the other hand, our cells also age along with us. Hence, as our cells age, they may also eventually become resistant to insulin.
Related posts:
Comments on this entry are closed.