Medical Author: Ruchi Mathur, M.D.
Medical Editor: William C. Shiel, Jr, MD, FACP, FACR

• Introduction to diabetes prevention
• What is type 2 diabetes?
• What are the risks factors for developing diabetes?
• Are there any “red flags” we can measure that point to an increased risk for diabetes?
• Is gestational diabetes a risk for developing type 2 diabetes later in life?
• Are certain dietary patterns associated with the development of type 2 diabetes?
• Is there anything that can help to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes?
• Are there medications that can help to prevent type 2 diabetes?
• Type 2 Diabetes Prevention At A Glance

Introduction to diabetes prevention

I'm pretty lucky in my office practice. I have friendly patients who are usually already fairly well informed about their disease. They are also generally willing to have discussions about therapies and options.

What I have noticed (much to my delight) is that there are a growing number of patients coming to me BEFORE they actually have developed diabetes, wanting to know how to prevent it. Most of them have seen family members with diabetes go through the process of diagnosis and management. As our attitude towards disease changes, and we learn to focus on prevention, I have more and more to discuss with these patients. Ultimately, I hope to see a paradigm shift where our focus is primarily on prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes. For now, I hope this review provides some information to those of you wanting to make healthy lifestyle changes, and that it encourages you to open up a dialogue with your own doctor about diabetes prevention.

There are 2 major forms of diabetes - type 1 and type 2. This article focuses specifically on type 2 diabetes. This form of diabetes is virtually a pandemic in the United States. This article reviews the risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes and covers key points regarding predicting who is at risk for type 2 diabetes (and what they can do about it).

What is type 2 diabetes?

While diabetes is characterized by high blood sugar values, type 2 diabetes is also associated with a condition known as insulin resistance. While there is an element of impaired insulin secretion from the beta cells of the pancreas especially when toxic levels of glucose occur (when blood sugars are constantly very high), the major defect is the body's inability to respond properly to insulin.

Eventually, the pancreas is working it's best to produce more and more insulin, but the body tissues (for example, muscle and fat cells) do not respond and become insensitive to the insulin. At this point, overt diabetes occurs as the body is no longer able to effectively use its insulin to maintain normal blood sugar levels. Over time, these high levels of sugar result in the complications we see all too often in patients with diabetes.

From the Doctors at MedicineNet.com

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