No one likes to get old, but it happens to us anyway, your life as a 50+ year old will be much more comfortable if you don’t have to deal with things that can be prevented (or at least pushed off for a few years). Diabetes is one of these things, if you are in a high risk group then you should do something to reduce your risk.
The first thing you should do is work out which of the risk factors for diabetes you have. Some things you can’t do anything about, like your family genes for example, but there are plenty of factors that you can do something about. You just need to accept what they are and make the commitment to do something about them.
Weight is a major factor in developing type 2 diabetes, this is different from type 1 diabetics as they tend to be of normal weight or even under weight. This is why type 2 is sometimes known as adult onset diabetes, because we tend to put on weight as we become older.
Age – type 2 diabetes is much more likely to develop in middle aged or elderly people. Until recently there were virtually no children or adolescents with type 2, which is why type 1 diabetes is often called childhood diabetes. Sadly enough it is possible and even common for people of all ages to develop type 2, even children, especially if they are very overweight.
Do you have high blood pressure already? Well then you are increasing your risk for diabetes. This is another one of the illness that can be improved so much just by reducing your weight. If you are clinically obese then diabetes and hypertension together could very well be reducing your life span.
Whilst you can’t do anything about your age, you can do something about your weight. Just reducing your body weight will help reduce your hypertension and the chances of you developing diabetes in later life.
If you lose weight, improve your hypertension, reduce your reliance on medicine and then reduce your chances of developing diabetes as well surely you are on a all round winner aren’t you?
While most of us cannot really know for certain if we will encounter diabetes it can be useful to know most of the Causes of Diabetes that we can control. Diabetes is becoming more common every year but there are things you can do to reduce your risk of encountering it.
Note from the Editor of Health Balanced Diet:
As a nurse, I see the complications of uncontrolled or undetected diabetes every day. I urge you to find out if you are at risk for diabetes right now at the American Diabetes Association’s website. Get a medical checkup and start working on any risk factors that are under your control to prevent the onset of diabetes.
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