The risks of Diabetes
Q: What is Diabetes?
Ans: Diabetes is a disease caused by high levels of blood sugar (glucose) in your body. This can happen when your body does not make insulin or does not use insulin correctly.
Insulin is a hormone made in the pancreas, an organ near your stomach. Insulin helps the glucose from food get into your body's cells for energy. If your body does not make enough insulin, or your body does not use the insulin correctly, the glucose stays and builds up in your blood.
Over time, this extra glucose can lead to prediabetes or diabetes. Diabetes puts you at risk for other serious and life-threatening health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, and kidney damage.
Q: What are the different level of diabetes?
Ans: The three main types of diabetes are:
Ans: Diabetes is a disease caused by high levels of blood sugar (glucose) in your body. This can happen when your body does not make insulin or does not use insulin correctly.
Insulin is a hormone made in the pancreas, an organ near your stomach. Insulin helps the glucose from food get into your body's cells for energy. If your body does not make enough insulin, or your body does not use the insulin correctly, the glucose stays and builds up in your blood.
Over time, this extra glucose can lead to prediabetes or diabetes. Diabetes puts you at risk for other serious and life-threatening health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, and kidney damage.
Q: What are the different level of diabetes?
Ans: The three main types of diabetes are:
- Type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, meaning the body's immune (defense) system attacks and destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. If you have type 1 diabetes, your body does not make insulin, so you must take insulin every day.
- Type 2 diabetes. This is the most common type of diabetes. You can get type 2 diabetes at any age, even during childhood. With type 2 diabetes, your body does not make enough insulin or is not able to use its own insulin correctly. When this happens, blood glucose levels rise.
- Gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that happens only during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes can cause health problems for the baby and the mother if not controlled. Although gestational diabetes goes away after your baby is born, having diabetes during pregnancy raises your risk for type 2 diabetes later on.
Q: Am I at risk for diabetes?
Ans: A risk factor is something that puts you at a higher risk for a disease compared with an average person.
Risk factors for type 1 diabetes in women and girls include:
Q: Who gets diabetes?
Ans:
Type 1 diabetes usually develops in childhood, but it can happen at any age. It is more common in whites than in other racial or ethnic groups. About 5% of adults with diabetes have type 1 diabetes. Genes you inherit from your parents play an important role in the development of type 1 diabetes. However, where you live may also affect your risk. Type 1 diabetes develops more often in winter and in people who live in colder climates.
Type 2 diabetes is more common in adults, especially in people who are overweight and have a family history of diabetes. About 95% of adults with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is becoming more common in children and teens as more of them become overweight and obese.
Q: How is diabetes treated?
Ans:
Diabetes treatment includes managing your blood sugar levels to control your symptoms. You can help control your blood sugar levels by eating healthy and getting regular physical activity.
With type 1 diabetes, you also will need to take insulin through shots or an insulin pump. Insulin cannot be taken as a pill.
Type 2 diabetes treatment also may include taking medicine to control your blood sugar. Over time, people with type 2 diabetes make less and less of their own insulin. This may mean that you will need to increase your medicines or start taking insulin shots to keep your diabetes in control.
Q: Is there anything I can do to prevent type 2 diabetes?
Ans: Yes. Many studies, including the large Diabetes Prevention Program study, have proven that you can prevent diabetes by losing weight. Weight loss through healthy eating and more physical activity improves the way your body uses insulin and glucose.
Ans: A risk factor is something that puts you at a higher risk for a disease compared with an average person.
Risk factors for type 1 diabetes in women and girls include:
- Age: It often develops in childhood.
- Family health history: Having a parent or brother or sister with type 1 diabetes
- Certain viral infections or illnesses, such as coxsackie virus B (a common cause of hand, foot, and mouth disease), rotavirus (also called stomach flu), and mumps
- Where you live: It is more common in people who live in colder climates.
- Overweight or obesity: Body mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher for adults. Find out your BMI. Children and teens weighing above the 85th percentile based on their BMI are at risk for type 2 diabetes.
- Older age: 45 or older. After menopause, women are at higher risk for weight gain, especially more weight around the waist, which raises the risk for type 2 diabetes.
- Family health history: Having a mother, father, brother, or sister with diabetes
- Race/ethnicity: Family background of African-American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic, Asian-American, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
- Having a baby that weighed 9 pounds or more at birth
- Having diabetes during pregnancy (gestational diabetes)
- High blood pressure: Taking medicine for high blood pressure or having a blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or higher. (Both numbers are important. If one or both numbers are usually high, you have high blood pressure.)
- High cholesterol: HDL cholesterol of 35 mg/dL or lower and triglycerides of 250 mg/dL or higher
- Lack of physical activity: Women who are active less than three times a week
- Having polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
- Personal history of heart disease or stroke
Q: Who gets diabetes?
Ans:
Type 1 diabetes usually develops in childhood, but it can happen at any age. It is more common in whites than in other racial or ethnic groups. About 5% of adults with diabetes have type 1 diabetes. Genes you inherit from your parents play an important role in the development of type 1 diabetes. However, where you live may also affect your risk. Type 1 diabetes develops more often in winter and in people who live in colder climates.
Type 2 diabetes is more common in adults, especially in people who are overweight and have a family history of diabetes. About 95% of adults with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is becoming more common in children and teens as more of them become overweight and obese.
Q: How is diabetes treated?
Ans:
Diabetes treatment includes managing your blood sugar levels to control your symptoms. You can help control your blood sugar levels by eating healthy and getting regular physical activity.
With type 1 diabetes, you also will need to take insulin through shots or an insulin pump. Insulin cannot be taken as a pill.
Type 2 diabetes treatment also may include taking medicine to control your blood sugar. Over time, people with type 2 diabetes make less and less of their own insulin. This may mean that you will need to increase your medicines or start taking insulin shots to keep your diabetes in control.
Q: Is there anything I can do to prevent type 2 diabetes?
Ans: Yes. Many studies, including the large Diabetes Prevention Program study, have proven that you can prevent diabetes by losing weight. Weight loss through healthy eating and more physical activity improves the way your body uses insulin and glucose.
- Weight loss: Obesity is a leading risk factor for diabetes. Calculate your BMI to see whether you’re at a healthy weight. If you’re overweight or obese, start making small changes to your eating habits and get more physical activity. Even a small amount of weight loss (7%, or about 14 pounds for a 200-pound woman) can delay or even prevent type 2 diabetes.
- Eating healthy: Choose vegetables, whole grains (such as whole wheat or rye bread, whole grain cereal, or brown rice), beans, and fruit. Read food labels to help you choose foods low in saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium. Limit processed foods and sugary foods and drinks.
- Getting active. Aim for 30 minutes of physical activity most days of the week and limit the amount of time you spend sitting.