Type 2 Diabetes Center

Type 2 Diabetes is the most prevalent form of diabetes among adults. This disease also affects children due to increase of obesity cases among them. When the body is affected by Type 2 diabetes, it is unable to utilize insulin correctly. This is referred to as insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone that facilitates cells to absorb glucose from the blood to get energy. The pancreas reacts by producing extra insulin to counter the high blood sugar levels.

However, the body does not properly utilize the insulin. Therefore, blood glucose levels rise to abnormal heights overtime. As a result, cells become starved for energy leading to fatigue. Furthermore, the high blood glucose may lead to health problems in the kidneys, eyes, heart or nerves.

Read: What is Type 2 Diabetes?

Symptoms

Type 2 diabetes symptoms appear slowly. To some people they do not appear at all. They include:

  • Weight lose
  • Feeling tired
  • Feeling hungry frequently
  • Being very thirsty
  • Urinating regularly
  • Having sores or wounds that take time to heal
  • Blurry eyesight

Read: Type 2 Diabetes Signs & Symptoms

Risk Factors

Risk factors associated with this disease are either genetic or lifestyle related. They include:

  • Obesity or being overweight.
  • Family history of having diabetes.
  • Old age (45 years and over). However, the disease is now common among obese and overweight children.
  • Prediabetes- a condition where blood sugar levels are beyond normal, but not high enough to be considered diabetic.
  • Having depression.
  • Inactive lifestyle.
  • Heart related diseases.
  • High blood pressure.
  • Gestation diabetes, which occurs during pregnancy.

Prevention

Genetic related risk factors are beyond our control. We can therefore concentrate on the lifestyle factors. Some of the recommended changes include:

  1. Weight loss and weight control. Losing 10% of your current body can go a long way in delaying and preventing diabetes.
  2. Cutting down on calories intake. It is advisable to cut down the consumption of sugar, fat, processed meats and red meat.
  • Regularly exercising.
  1. Don’t smoke.
  2. Regular medical checkups.

Causes:

Read: Type 2 Diabetes Causes

Diagnoses:

Read: Type 2 Diabetes Diagnoses

Treatment:

Read: Type 2 Diabetes Treatment

Also Read: Can You Reverse Type 2 Diabetes?

Evidence Based

This article is based on scientific evidence, and written, fact-checked & medically reviewed by health experts.

Throughout this article, you’ll find scientific references (highly trusted peer-reviewed scientific papers, links denoted by the numbers in the parentheses (1, 2, 3)).