What is type 2 diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose levels are above normal. People with diabetes have problems converting food to energy.
After a meal, food is broken down into a sugar called glucose,which is carried by the blood to cells throughout the body. Cells use the hormone insulin, made in the pancreas, to help them process blood glucose into energy.
People develop type 2 diabetes because the cells in the muscles,liver, and fat do not use insulin properly. Eventually, the pancreas cannot make enough insulin for the body’s needs. As a result, the amount of glucose in the blood increases while the cells are starved of energy. Over the years, high blood glucose damages nerves and blood vessels, leading to complications such as heart disease, stroke,blindness, kidney disease, nerve problems, gum infections, and amputation.
How can type 2 diabetes be prevented?
Although people with diabetes can prevent or delay complications by keeping blood glucose levels close to normal, preventing or delaying the development of type 2 diabetes in the first place is even better. The results of a major federally funded study, the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), show how to do so. This study of 3,234 people at high risk for diabetes showed that moderate diet and exercise resulting in a 5- to 7-percent weight loss can delay and possibly prevent type 2 diabetes.
Study participants were overweight and had higher than normal levels of blood glucose, a condition called pre-diabetes (impaired glucose tolerance). Both pre-diabetes and obesity are strong risk factors for type 2 diabetes.
What are the signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes?
Many people have no signs or symptoms. Symptoms can also be so mild that you might not even notice them. Nearly six million people in the United States have type 2 diabetes and do not know it.
Here is what to look for:
• increased thirst
• increased hunger
• fatigue
• increased urination, especially at night
• weight loss
• blurred vision
• sores that do not heal
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