Among the more than seventeen million people in the United States who have diabetes, around 6 million are not aware that they have it. This figure suggest that while diabetes is a highly manageable medical condition, a lot of patients are not able to follow any type of diabetes management plan because they do not know they have diabetes in the first place.
There are two major types of diabetes, and both are due to problems involving the hormone known as insulin. Insulin is tasked to help regulate the blood sugar in the human body.
Type 1 diabetes, which typically affects children and young adults, accounts for about 5% to 10% of diabetes cases. This type happens to people whose bodies are unable to produce adequate amounts of insulin.
Type 2 diabetes, which accounts for more than 90% of cases, is mostly diagnosed in people who are beyond 40 years old. However, there have been reports that children, as well as adolescents, have been diagnosed with it. Normally, type 2 diabetes is usually associated with physical inactivity and obesity. This type involves bodies which are capable of producing insulin, but are unable to utilize properly the amount of insulin produced.
Diabetes is a life-long health condition. It is also considered as one of the most deadly diseases of the human body. In fact, more than 200,000 American die every year due to complications associated with the disease.
Weight and type 2 diabetes are closely linked together. Excess body weight is said to be responsible for the occurrence of type 2 diabetes. This means that individuals who are overweight have an increased risk of suffering from type 2 diabetes over those with normal weights. Having excess weight gives extra pressure to the body’s capability of controlling blood glucose through insulin production and utilization. This added pressure will contribute to the development of this type of diabetes.
Studies show that 90% of those diagnosed with type 2 diabetes have weights which are more than their ideal weights. Over the years, experts discovered that there has been a rapid increase in the number of diabetes cases. The distinct rise is blamed primarily on obesity which is becoming very prevalent in society nowadays.
People who are obese or extremely overweight are not only at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but are likely to develop other medical conditions as well. Excessive body weight, along with physical inactiveness, is considered to be the main cause of several cardiovascular diseases, such as heart failure and stroke.
