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Diabetes Update
by Christopher Saudek, M.D. &
Anne E. Daly, M.S., R.S., L.D., C.D.E.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a serious, chronic disease characterized by high blood sugar (hyperglycemia), which may cause a series of immediate symptoms and long-term complications. The underlying cause is the body's inability to produce or properly use insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas that helps convert food into energy. Without enough insulin, glucose cannot be used as fuel by the body's cells. Instead, it builds up in the blood. This causes the immediate symptoms of diabetes and, over many years, can damage the eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart and blood vessels.
There are two major types of diabetes. In type 1 diabetes–formerly known as juvenile, childhood-onset or insulin-dependent diabetes–the body does not produce any insulin. It accounts for 5 to 10 percent of all cases of diabetes and occurs most often, though not exclusively, in children or young adults.
Type 2 diabetes–formerly known as adult-onset, or non-insulin-dependent diabetes–is the most common form of the disease, accounting for 90 to 95 percent of the 16 million cases of diabetes nationwide. Commonly associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes is thought to result from a resistance to insulin in the muscle and fat tissues of the body. This type of diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions in the United States and around the world, due to an increased number of older people and a greater prevalence of obesity and sedentary lifestyles. In recent years, type 2 diabetes has also been increasing among young people.
Risk Factors
Researchers agree that environmental factors, such as obesity and a lack of exercise, play a very important role in the development of type 2 diabetes,
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