Type 2 Diabetes and the risks factors

What is type 2 diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes and the risk factors associated with it will be the subject of discussion today. There are two types of diabetes. Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 is the most common type of diabetes. There are about 29 million people in the U.S. with type 2 diabetes. Another 84 million have prediabetes. meaning their blood sugar (or blood glucose) is high but not high enough to be diabetes yet.

Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong disease that keeps your body from utilizing insulin the way, it should.  People with type 2 diabetes are said to be insulin resistant.  Type 2 diabetes is mostly seen in adults.

Symptoms of type 2 diabetes

  • Increased thirst
  • Frequent urination
  • Increased hunger
  • Unintended weight loss
  • Fatigue
  • Blurred vision
  • Slow-healing sores
  • Frequent infections
  • Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet
  • Areas of darkened skin, usually in the armpits and neck

Risk factors for diabetes

Risk factors for type 2 diabetes are:

  • Age (being over age 45)
  • A family history of diabetes
  • Being of a race or ethnic group with a genetic predisposition for this type of diabetes
  • Being overweight
  • Having had prediabetes or gestational diabetes.
  • Having other metabolic syndrome conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol.

Other causes include unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as

  • Eat too much sugar and carbohydrates
  • Eat or drink foods with artificial sweeteners
  • Not exercising enough 
  • Are under chronic, high stress

What lifestyle factors predisposes one to get this diabetes?

Lifestyle habits can contribute to a person developing the disease. You can develop the disease if you are:

  • overweight or obese
  • live a sedentary life.
  • Watch too much TV without moving around.
  • drink artificially sweetened or sugar sweetened products. These products increase your risk by 26%-67%.
  •  Under Economic stress.

The test used for diabetes

The blood is tested for glucose, and if it is greater than 125 fasting, or more than 200 when randomly tested, the diagnosis is diabetes.

If the fasting blood sugar is between 100-125, the person has a diagnosis of prediabetes.

Other tests also can measure average blood sugar over time.

hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test greater than 6.5% indicates the diagnosis of the disease.

Prediabetes is diagnosed with an HbA1c of 5.7% – 6.4%.

How is Type 2 diabetes treated or managed?

These include

Not all people with diabetes need drug therapy. But for some, a healthy eating plan and exercise alone can be enough to arrest the trend. when healthy lifestyle changes are made as a result of the diagnosis, this might halt the advent of the disease and extend longevity. Other complications also may need treatment. Take lots of water and supplements.

type 2 diabetes
Photo by Diabetesmagazijn.nl on Unsplash

Prevention of Type 2 diabetes

To prevent type 2 diabetes, making lifestyle changes is key. If you’ve received a diagnosis of prediabetes, lifestyle changes may slow or stop the progression to diabetes.

A healthy lifestyle includes:

  • Eating healthy foods. Choose foods lower in fat and calories and higher in fiber. Focus on fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
  • Getting active. Try as much as possible to exercise for 150 or more minutes a week of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity, such as a brisk walk, bicycling, running or swimming, doing squarts,yoga crunches
  • Losing weight. Losing a modest amount of weight and keeping it off can delay the progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes. If you have prediabetes, work on losing 7% to 10% of your body weight. This will help to reduce the risk of diabetes.
  • Avoiding inactivity for long periods.  Avoid sitting still for long periods can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes. Move around after for afew minutes after every 30 minutes.

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