What causes Type 2 diabetes? You’ve heard about the global Type 2 diabetes epidemic, and you want to know whether you’re at risk, or you have been diagnosed and are wondering what may have caused you to develop the condition. In looking at causes and Type 2 diabetes risk factors, you’ll find sensible ways to reduce the impact of Type 2 Diabetes on your health, and if you’re at risk, you’ll discover what you can do to reduce your risk. Here’s what you need to know about factors that make you more susceptible to Type 2 diabetes.

Being Overweight or Obese

While we need a certain amount of body fat to remain healthy, having too much fat is a health risk. Having excess body fat causes your body to release inflammatory proteins and hormones that may cause insulin resistance.

This means that your body stops storing glucose in the form of glycogen. As a result, glucose remains in your bloodstream for longer and your blood sugar level rises. In response to this, your pancreas produces more insulin, but your body’s weakened response to insulin means that it may not be able to keep up.

A Diet Rich in Fat, Calories, and Cholesterol

A 2004 study is among those to confirm that diet has a major role to play in your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Spanning a 14-year period, the study found that consuming a “prudent” diet including plenty of fruit and vegetables, whole grain, white meats, and low fat dairy products meant a reduced chance of Type 2 diabetes.

It noted that in the western world, larger amounts of refined foods, high fat dairy products, red meat, and processed meat and sugar in the diet led to a significant risk of Type 2 Diabetes.

Smoking

Did you know that smoking may increase your chances of getting Type 2 diabetes by 30 to 40 percent? It may seem like one of the more surprising Type 2 diabetes risk factors. Here’s a simple explanation of how it works. When you smoke, nicotine enters your bloodstream. Its effect on cells is to reduce their sensitivity to insulin.

Besides this, the chemicals in tobacco smoke damage cells and cause inflammation. Again, the result is reduced insulin sensitivity. To top it all off, you’re more likely to accumulate “belly fat” when you smoke, and although you may not be overweight, the higher levels of visceral fat increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Raised Cholesterol Levels and High Blood Pressure

You’ve probably heard that people living with Type 2 diabetes are more prone to cardiovascular issues, but the reverse is also true. If you have high levels of “bad” cholesterol or tend to have high blood pressure, you're also at greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Studies show that people with hypertension (high blood pressure) often have a greater resistance to insulin. When the insulin your body secretes is no longer able to work effectively, you develop Type 2 diabetes.

High cholesterol levels also counter your body’s tolerance towards glucose, and high levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) can predict the onset of Type 2 diabetes.

Physical Inactivity

You may not be overweight, but if you aren’t physically active, you could be at risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. A 2007 study found that even the healthiest people didn’t need to be inactive for long before their diabetes risk began to rise. Just five days of bed rest caused increased insulin resistance, lipid imbalances, and raised blood pressure among a group of healthy volunteers.

Insulin Resistance

We’ve already touched on insulin resistance in our discussion of Type 2 diabetes risk factors. After all, becoming resistant to insulin means that we may need insulin from external sources to regulate our blood sugar levels. But excess body fat, diet, smoking and inactivity aren’t the only things to cause insulin resistance.  

You’re more likely to develop insulin resistance if your family has a history of Type 2 diabetes, if you’ve had gestational diabetes, have fatty liver disease, polycystic ovary syndrome, sleep apnea, or are living with certain hormonal disorders, for example, Cushing’s syndrome.

Your chances of developing insulin resistance seem to be greater if you have Latin, Native American, or African ethnicity in your ancestry, and anyone over the age of 45 is likely to begin developing insulin resistance too. Finally, there are some medications that can trigger insulin resistance. Steroids, HIV medications, and antipsychotic medications may have this effect.

The good news is that a healthy diet, plenty of exercise, and, if you’re overweight, weight loss can help to reduce insulin resistance.

Have You Been Diagnosed With Type 2 Diabetes? Here’s What You Need to Know

A Type 2 diabetes diagnosis will come as a shock to you, but it isn’t cause for despair. Your challenge is to manage your diabetes well, and doing so means working with your medical team, switching to a healthier diet, getting some exercise, losing as much excess weight as possible, and quitting smoking.  When you manage your diabetes well, you can live as long as you otherwise would have. And since managing your diabetes includes adopting a healthier lifestyle than you might otherwise have followed, you might even live longer!

All the same, being diagnosed with a serious condition heightens our awareness of the fact that nobody lives forever. Will your family be able to cope financially if you weren’t there any longer? Getting life insurance becomes a priority, but getting the life cover you need when you’re living with Type 2 diabetes often isn’t easy.

That’s when you need specialised life insurance for chronic conditions. Why wait for months when you can get a fair offer in minutes? It’s time you joined Blueberry Life, the life insurance company that prioritises your needs as a person living with Type 2 diabetes. Complete your application now. We’ve got you covered!