What Do You Really Know About...

People with diabetes most often have type 1 or type 2. You are at higher risk for type 2 diabetes if you:

• Are older
• Are obese
• Don't get much exercise
• Have a family history of diabetes

You are also at risk if you have prediabetes or had gestational diabetes. You are also at risk if you are of a certain ethnic background. This type of diabetes was once seen just in adults. Today more children and teens are being diagnosed with it.

Diabetes can affect many parts of your body. It can lead to serious health problems. These include:

• Eye problems
• Nerve damage
• Gum disease
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Kidney damage
• Lower-limb amputations

You can help prevent these problems by keeping your blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels under control.

Insulin helps your body use or store the blood sugar it gets from food. Blood sugar is also called blood glucose.

Being overweight and not getting exercise make it more likely that you will get type 2 diabetes. Losing weight and being more physically active may help you prevent it.

The American Diabetes Association says that diabetes is more likely in people who are 20 or older and are American Indians/Alaska Natives, non-Hispanic blacks, Hispanics, or Asian Americans. Non-Hispanic blacks are almost 2 times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites of a like age.

Other symptoms may include sexual dysfunction, needing to urinate often, and tingling or loss of feeling in the hands or feet. But some people who have type 2 diabetes may have no symptoms. Symptoms may be mild and almost unnoticeable, or easily confused with normal signs of aging. Half of all Americans who have diabetes don’t know it.

A baby of a mother who had diabetes during pregnancy may have serious health problems. These include low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), jaundice, respiratory distress syndrome, and low levels of calcium and magnesium. But gestational diabetes most often doesn’t cause birth defects. Birth defects can happen if a woman had diabetes before pregnancy and did not have it under good control early in the pregnancy.

Exercise makes your cells more sensitive to insulin. Your muscles use more blood sugar during exercise. This lowers your blood sugar levels. And that cuts your body’s need for insulin.