Type 2 Diabetes Risk Factors

Type 2 diabetes has many risk factors associated with it, mostly related to lifestyle choices. Type 2 diabetes develops when glucose—which our bodies need for energy—stays in the blood and can’t get into the cells. This occurs when the pancreas either doesn’t make enough insulin or the body doesn’t use the insulin as it should, leading to insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is usually caused by being overweight (BMI greater than 25).

 

But in order to develop insulin resistance (an inability for your body to use insulin as it should) and type 2 diabetes, you must also have a genetic abnormality. Along the same lines, some people with type 2 don’t produce enough insulin; that is also due to a genetic abnormality.

 

That is, not everyone can develop type 2 diabetes. Additionally, not everyone with a genetic abnormality will develop type 2 diabetes; these risk factors and lifestyle choices influence the development.

If you already have type 2 diabetes, our eNewsletters can help you take steps towards maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Get meal planning and exercise tips, plus advice from leading specialists in the Diabetes Advisor. Or get easy, delicious diabetes-friendly recipes delivered straight to your inbox with the Diabetic Recipes eNewsletter.

Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include:

• Family history: Type 2 diabetes has a hereditary factor. If someone in your close family has (or had) it, you are more likely to develop it.
• Race/ethnicity: Certain ethnic groups are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, including African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans.

It’s interesting to point out that as certain countries have become more Westernized and their lifestyle choices—particularly their food choices—have become more “American,” (read: full of fat) the incidence of type 2 diabetes has gone up. For instance, China used to have a low rate of type 2 diabetes. As the country has become more industrialized—more people working in offices and fewer people working in the fields—and as their diet has shifted, the incidence of type 2 has gone up.

Many Americans’ lifestyles are conducive to developing type 2 diabetes—less physical activity, eating more calories and larger portions than necessary, and being overweight (BMI greater than 25). It seems that certain non-white (not Caucasians) groups of people are susceptible to type 2, but that risk is especially heightened if they live in America.

• Age: The older you are, the more at risk you are for developing type 2 diabetes. At age 45, your risk starts to rise, and after age 65, your risk increases exponentially.
• Gestational diabetes: If you developed diabetes while you were pregnant, that increases your risk for developing type 2 diabetes later on.
• Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) also raises the risk for type 2 diabetes because it’s related to insulin resistance. In PCOS, many cysts form in your ovaries, and one possible cause is insulin resistance. If you have PCOS, that means you may be insulin resistant and therefore at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.