Type 2 Diabetes: An Epidemic

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It is a silent, deadly killer that often escapes blame. It is type 2 diabetes. According to the World Health Organization, 347 million people have diabetes worldwide, and 90-95% of these cases are type 2 diabetes. To make matters worse, it is estimated that around 25% of all cases go undiagnosed before it is too late. Even then, one’s death is often attributed to other things such as heart disease, stroke, or kidney failure. Type 2 diabetes is a serious disease that causes the body to become insulin resistant, hindering the body’s ability to process sugar, and it can be largely attributed to lifestyle choices and genetic factors. Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death, but this statistic is skewed in that the primary cause of death in individuals with diabetes is not from diabetes itself but rather from the complications of the disease. Type 2 diabetes differs from type 1 diabetes in that one’s body continues to produce insulin, but one’s body either uses insulin ineffectively or one’s cells do not respond correctly to insulin. This insulin resistance prevents glucose from entering the body’s cells, and this causes glucose to build up in the blood stream. This glucose build up eventually develops into the condition hyperglycemia. Type 2 diabetes is a tragic epidemic, which is raging across the world. The danger can be greatly avoided if people take care of their bodies, and get screened if diabetes is prevalent in their families.
A person’s lifestyle choices can greatly increase or decrease his/her chances of developing diabetes. Poor lifestyle choices can lead to increased levels of fat, which is dangerous because excess levels of fat makes it more difficult for one’s body to utilize insulin effectively. Low activity l...

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