Type 2 Diabetes Causes

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not produces enough insulin to take glucose out of your blood and into your body’s cells, or when the cells develop resistance to insulin, meaning they do not react properly to the hormone.

Although the exact cause of type 2 diabetes is not fully understood, there are many factors that increase the risk of developing the condition. These risk factors include are:

Being overweight or obese

Type 2 diabetes is often linked to obesity, as excess body fat increases the risk of the body’s cells becoming less responsive to the effects of insulin. In fact, figures show that 80% of people who develop type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese, have a large waist, and have an inactive lifestyle.

Ethnic origin

People of certain ethnicities are more at risk of developing type 2 diabetes than others. For instance, people of African-Caribbean or South Asian origin and living in the UK are at least five times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than a person who is white.

Age

The older you get, the more likely you are to develop type 2 diabetes. This link is largely based on the fact that people usually become less active and gain weight as they grow older. Type 2 diabetes is common in people who are over 40 years old and white, or over 25 years of age and of African, Asian origin (or from a minority ethnic group). This is why it is sometimes referred to as maturity onset diabetes. However, in recent years an increasing number of young adults and children have been diagnosed with the disease.

Genetic factors

As with type 1 diabetes, you are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if you have a close relative such as a parent or sibling who has the disorder.

Pre-diabetes

Another risk factor is pre-diabetes (also called metabolic syndrome), which is most always a precursor to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus.  It is characterised by the presence of higher than normal blood glucose levels that are yet to reach diabetic levels.

People who have pre-diabetes may suffer from impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or impaired fasting glycaemia (IFG). Both these conditions can develop into type 2 diabetes if left untreated.