Diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity are among the most concerning health conditions found today.
What exactly is diabetes?
Often referred to as diabetes mellitus, diabetes is nothing but a group of metabolic disorders where the individual has high blood sugar levels. This happens due to two possible reasons – the production of insulin in the body of the individual may be inadequate, or the individual’s body may not respond properly to insulin, or possibly even both. Type 2 diabetes, which occurs when the body fails to produce enough insulin is responsible for around 90% of all the cases of the disease worldwide.
Who should get tested for diabetes?
There are several risk factors involved, which may raise the risk of diabetes in an individual. If you fall under any of the following categories, you may consider getting yourself tested for the disease.
You are overweight: Being obese or overweight could put you at a huge risk of being affected by diabetes. It has been found that being overweight tends to cause the body to release certain chemicals that destabilize the body’s cardiovascular and metabolic systems, which in turn, raises the risk of diabetes.
Someone from your family is diabetic: Having a family history of diabetes can put one at a much higher risk of being affected by the condition.
You belong to a particular region: People of the Middle Eastern, South Asian or African descent are thought to have a higher risk of developing the disease.
You are inactive: Living a sedentary lifestyle is thought to put one at a higher risk of being overweight, and therefore, more likely to fall prey to diabetes.
You follow an unhealthy lifestyle: Those following an unhealthy lifestyle - minimal physical activity, alcohol and nicotine addictions and consumption of unhealthy foods are thought to be at a higher risk of the disease. In fact, a recent study has revealed how an individual consuming just one can of soda a day can be at an increased risk of being affected by the condition.
You have low testosterone levels: Several studies have found that men having lower levels of the hormone testosterone are more likely to be affected by type 2 diabetes.
If you do fall under any of the above categories, you may need to get yourself checked for diabetes. Diabetes is usually diagnosed by the FPG (fasting plasma glucose) test.
Sadly, diabetes is a health condition that has no cure - it can only be managed by a proper approach.
