Type 2 Diabetes Affects Over 50,000,000 Americans Today

Read More About Health

Type 2 diabetes, which represents nearly 95 percent of all cases of diabetes and affects over fifty million Americans, is mainly seen in adults over the age of forty. Nowadays, however, it is also being seen more and more at younger ages, and is even being seen in very young children.

The symptoms of type 2 diabetes are frequently reasonably mild in the early stages and you can be suffering from type 2 diabetes for many months or years before it is diagnosed. However, diabetes is a potentially very serious condition and undiagnosed type 2 diabetes can lead to several serious complications including blindness, renal failure, wounds which do not heal and coronary artery disease.

Figures suggest that approximately 1 in 5 adults above 65 in the United States is suffering from type 2 diabetes. The condition is more common amongst, Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanics and Non-Hispanic Whites and is somewhat more common in older women than in men.

The origin of type 2 diabetes is something of a mystery and, while it is thought that there is a genetic component to the disease there is far less evidence for this than is found in the case of type 1 diabetes. There is however clear evidence that environmental factors play a large role in the development of type 2 diabetes and this is particularly true in the case of obesity, insufficient exercise and an inactive lifestyle.

Many people think that type 1 and type 2 diabetes are the same thing and that the difference lies merely in the name, with type 1 diabetes referring to the disease in children and type 2 diabetes referring to the disease in adults. However, this is not so and, while there are a number of similarities, type 1 and type 2 diabetes are quite separate conditions and require very different treatment.

In the case of type 1 diabetes the body is unable to produce insulin, which is necessary for the transfer of glucose (the primary source of energy within the body) from the blood into the cells of the body. In the case of type 2 diabetes the difficulty is not that the body is not able to produce insulin but that the body develops a resistance to insulin.

At this time there is no way to cure type 2 diabetes which is a chronic condition and treatment is thus designed to manage the disease to reduce the rate of complications a number of which can be life-threatening. In addition, treatment is aimed at maintaining the best possible quality of life for the sufferer.

In the first instant, patients with type 2 diabetes are treated using a very carefully designed program of diet and exercise (which includes a weight loss program where this is necessary) and this can prove very effective in controlling levels of glucose within the blood and can generally increase a patient's sensitivity to insulin markedly. Where this treatment does not prove to be successful, or in cases in which the disease progresses, it is usually treated with a range of medication.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

For more information on all aspects of diabetes including the symptoms of type 2 diabetes and diabetes treatment please visit Diabetes-Treatment-And-Cure.com

Please Rate this Article

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Health Articles Via RSS!

Additional Articles From - Home | Health

Our other websites
All about SEO
Beauty Tips Forum

	Print This Article
	Post Comment
	Add To Favorites
	Email to Friends
	Ezine Ready

Submit Articles
Member Login
Link Us
Submission Guidelines
Ezine Notifications
Article RSS Feeds
Sitemap

New Stuff
About Us
Developer
Good shopping portal
Link to Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service