Unlike Juvenile, or type 1 diabetes, which occurs in children, type 2 diabetes usually occurs later in life. For that reason, it is often called “adult-onset diabetes.” There is a well-established connection between being overweight or obese and developing the disease. In people with too much body fat, the fat can cling to the pancreas and prevent it from working effectively.
Losing weight is the best way to reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. It is also the only known way to reverse the condition in people who have already been diagnosed as pre-diabetic or who already have the disease. If you fail to do anything to improve your condition, you could develop other health conditions such as heart disease or kidney disease.
How Diabetes 2 Develops
In people who don’t have diabetes, the pancreas makes insulin that creates energy from glucose in the food you eat. People with type 2 diabetes still produce insulin but their cells become resistant to the hormone and their body is unable to use it effectively. This condition is called “insulin resistance.”
Risk Factors And Causes
Being overweight or obese is not the only risk factor for developing diabetes. Other risk factors include genetics, being aged 45 or older, and ethnicity. While these are things that you can’t control, having weight loss surgery to help you lose weight can still help. If you have close family members with diabetes, they are probably also overweight. Reducing your weight and keeping it off can help you reduce your risk of developing the disease even if it is in your genes!
A number of health conditions, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol, are risk factors for diabetes that can also be controlled. In addition to medications, losing weight and making lifestyle changes can improve these conditions. Some lifestyle habits also increase your risk of developing the disease. These include smoking, stress, low quality or lack of sleep, and being overweight. Being overweight is one of the most common reasons people develop type 2 diabetes.
Before You Develop Type 2 Diabetes
Some people recognize their risk of developing diabetes because they have close family members such as a parent, brothers, or sisters with the disease. You may have already been diagnosed with pre-diabetes. This means your pancreas is still producing insulin but your body is not using all of the insulin appropriately. The sooner you realise you are at risk of developing diabetes, the more likely you will be to prevent it.
How To Lower Your Risk
The choices you make about what to eat and how much exercise you get may determine whether you become a diabetic or not. If you smoke, stop. If you have other health conditions such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure, work with your doctor to get those under control. If you are overweight or obese, lose the excess weight. Not only will weight loss surgery reverse diabetes 2, it can also improve these other health conditions.
Managing Vs Reversing Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes is considered an incurable disease that continues to get worse over time. People have proven time and time again that it can be reversed. Most often, this is done through a combination of losing weight, becoming more active, and developing a healthier lifestyle.
Weight loss surgery offers a more effective method of weight loss than other methods. Keeping the weight off is necessary to maintain your good health. You do have choices to help you take control of your weight and your health. We understand how challenging weight loss can be. GI Surgical has a specialised pool of surgeons in Singapore for weight loss surgery to help you get the weight off in the most effective and healthy way possible for you.