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Type 2 Diabetes:
Reduce Your Risk Now

The odds of developing type 2 diabetes are determined partly by genes and partly by lifestyle. Making healthy choices now may help prevent the disease later in life.

Type 2 diabetes results when the body can no longer make enough of, or properly use, a hormone called insulin. Insulin helps the body convert sugar and other food into energy.

When the body does not have enough insulin, sugar builds up in the bloodstream. This can lead to many serious health problems, including heart disease.

Is Diabetes Preventable?

Many experts believe people may be able to prevent type 2 diabetes by controlling their weight and exercising regularly.

Eating certain foods and avoiding others— like white bread or other starchy carbs—also may help.

What’s Your Risk?

People with a family history of diabetes need to be particularly cautious. Other risk factors include:

• Age—about half of all cases occur in people age 55 and older
• Being African-American, Hispanic-American, Asian, Pacific Islander, or Native American
• Excess weight
• An inactive lifestyle

The Importance of Screening

Early symptoms of type 2 diabetes include:

• Excessive thirst and frequent urination
• Weight loss, fatigue, and drowsiness
• Frequent skin, gum, or bladder infections
• Slow healing of cuts and bruises
• Blurred vision
• Numb hands or feet

Diabetes often strikes without warning. And the symptoms of diabetes may be so mild that they go unnoticed. That’s why it’s important to get screened for the disease on a regular basis.