Different types of Diabetes
The most commonly known types of diabetes are
type 1 and 2. Type 1 occurs when the cells in the pancreas, that produce insulin in your body, are terminated. It is still not known why these cells get
destroyed. Some scientists believe an infection or
virus could have triggered these cells to get destroyed. Whites over 40, blacks and Asians over 25 years old are at risk if the following factors apply to your situation:
- You are overweight.
- A closely-related member of your family has type 2
diabetes. For example, your sister or brother.
- You suffer from high blood pressure, have had
a stroke or heart attack in your past.
- You have general severe mental health problems.
There are more risk factors, your GP will gladly tell
you about them. So do call him/her! There is one
rule : the more risk factors are applicable to your situation, the greater is your chance of having or developing diabetes.
Age and Diabetes
It is true that the older you get the higher the
chance you develop diabetes. This is mostly true
for other illnesses as well. Again, the risk is higher
if you are over 40 years old, or over 25 if you are
black or Asian. The older you get the longer it
takes for your body to heal and recover from health
problems. It is therefore of GREAT importance that
you eat healthy and get enough physical exercise!
Keep your body in excellent shape.
Ethnicity and family
There are some major differences between various
races. African and (mostly South-) Asian people have
5 times as much chance of developing diabetes than
white people. There are several reasons for this, ncluding social reasons. We will not cover those
on this page. Please use a search engine for further
information regarding ethnicity-related diabetes risks. Again, if Diabetes is common in your family
you are at a much higher risk of also becoming affected by it. The closer the family member to you,
the higher the risk. Examples were provided on the
left side of this page.
Weight problems
Besides heart disease, breathing problems, and
a whole range of other issues - weight problems
are connected to diabetes. A study in the UK found
that about 80 percent of diabetes patients were
having weight problems. To determine overweight
you can ask your doctor or take one of the BMI
tests that are available online. Type 2 diabetes
is common among overweight people.
Other risks
Pregnant woman can be affected by a temporary
form of Diabetes, Gestational Diabetes. Although
this usually goes way rather quickly, it can increase
the risk of developing full-blown Diabetes at a later
time. Another pregnancy-related risk is giving birth
to a large baby. Sadly, these are risks you can not
do anything about.
There is some good news, a recent CDC study has
indicated that there is more care for Diabetes now than 10 years ago. We aren't there yet though!