In today's fast paced world too few people are taking the time out to exercise and are relying heavily on convenient high-calorie/high-fat diets. Because of this there has been in meteoric rise in type 2 diabetes, striking people at younger and younger ages.
Many in the medical fields believe that type 2 diabetes is a more of a lifestyle disease rather than a medical one. In the world we live in everything is super-sized and trying to find normal, healthy portions are next to impossible. Because of the lethargy involved after eating so much too few people are actually getting off the couch and taking part in even the most minor of exercise regimes. As you can imagine, over time the lack of exercise and poor dietary habits take its toll on our bodies.
The American Diabetes Association has said that about 16 million people in the United States have diabetes . People with type 2 diabetes outnumber those with juvenile diabetes. Today, nearly 95 percent of all diabetics have type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes generally develops over time due to physical inactivity, heredity and poor diet. Because of these environmental and hereditary factors the body's cells don't recognize and properly use the insulin that the body produces. The term for this is insulin resistance.
When the cells cannot convert sugar or glucose into energy you risk damaging your heart, your nerve endings, your kidneys and your eyes. Complications of diabetes include an increased risk of stroke, high blood pressure, blindness, kidney disease and amputations of the limbs.
Risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes include the following:
* family history * obesity * lack of exercise * glucose intolerance * being over age 40 * being an African American, Native American, Latin American, Asian American or Pacific Islander
Fortunately despite the risk factors mentioned above, type 2 diabetes can be prevented in many cases. According to a recent National Institutes of Health study, the best defense against this disease is to have a healthy diet and engage in exercise for 30 minutes a day, five days a week. In fact, the study shows that it is possible to lower your risk for diabetes by 60 percent simply by incorporating some moderate daily exercise and cutting down on fat intake.
As I already mentioned, if you have these risk factors a diabetes diagnosis isn't guaranteed. And, if you already have been diagnosed, the disease does not have to ruin your life. Diabetes is not a death sentence, with diet and exercise you can control this disease.
