Could You Be at Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes?

There is little doubt that diabetes is one of the most common lifestyle diseases, especially in the Western World. Many people mistakenly believe Type 2 Diabetes is the result of overeating sugar, but this is not true. Type 2 Diabetes occurs because the pancreas (the organ in the body responsible for producing insulin) either cannot meet your body's insulin needs or because your body is not able to use the insulin that it is rendering correctly.

Are you at risk of Type 2 Diabetes?
 Although anyone to develop Type 2 Diabetes at any time, as many lifestyle diseases or conditions, certain types of people are at a higher risk of developing this condition.
People with a higher risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes include:
- Overweight and inactive adults and children - the main factor that contributes to diabetes.
- Anyone with a family history of diabetes - the more people in your family with diabetes, the higher your chance of developing diabetes.
- Women who have had Gestational Diabetes - this is a significant risk, especially if you have had Gestational Diabetes for more than one pregnancy.
- Other risk factors for the development of diabetes include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, impaired glucose tolerance, pre-diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Ways to reduce your risk of Type 2 Diabetes?
 Even if you are at a high risk of developing diabetes, the good news is that there are steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of developing Type 2 Diabetes. The main steps you can take are to increase the amount of exercise and physical activity that you do, start following a healthy diet (including eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables) and reducing your weight even by just 10 per cent.

 These steps don't need to be hard. Increasing your daily increase to just 20 or 30 minutes will have a significant impact on your health and your weight. Even eating well can be as simple as eating a smaller amount at each meal and swapping high fat/high-calorie meals for a similar meal with less fat and calories. You can still eat all your favourite foods just by reducing the amount you eat.

 As you can see, reducing your risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes is a lot easier than many people think. These few simple lifestyle changes will reduce your chance of diabetes, improve your health, and if you already have diabetes, will allow you to have much more control over your blood glucose readings. Follow these simple steps, and you can continue to live a diabetes-free life.