Type 2 diabetes

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is one of the most common metabolic diseases and causes raised blood sugar. There are several types, the most common being type 1 and type 2. Type 2 develops in adulthood, usually in people who are overweight and not very active, and is caused by insulin resistance, meaning the body’s cells become insensitive to the hormone. Without the effect of insulin, our cells cannot take up sugar from the blood and are effectively starved, while the raised blood sugar damages body tissues.

What causes the disease?

Type 2 diabetes is caused by insulin resistance: the body still produces insulin (unlike in type 1), but the cells do not respond to it properly. As a result blood sugar stays high and the pancreas tries to produce more and more insulin until it may become exhausted. The most common causes are excess weight, especially abdominal fat, which can trigger inflammation in the body that weakens the effect of insulin; lack of exercise; poor diet; genetic predisposition; age; and stress.

What treatments are available?

Diabetes treatment rests on three pillars. The first is diet and exercise; the second is oral diabetes medication; and the third is replacing the hormone insulin from outside the body. In type 2 diabetes, the right diet and exercise are perhaps the most important, supported by oral medicines. Insulin is used only as a last resort.