Type 2 Diabetes

Being overweight greatly increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes is a condition where the amount of glucose in your blood is too high because the body is not using it correctly. This is because your pancreas does not produce enough insulin to help glucose enter your body’s cells or the insulin that is produced does not work properly (insulin resistance).

Type 2 diabetes usually appears in people over the age of 40. South Asian and black people are at greater risk and can develop symptoms from the age of 25.

Complications

Diabetes is serious and can lead to long-term health complications affecting many areas of the body including your eyes, feet, heart, kidneys and nerves.

Complications include:

Cardiovascular disease (CVD)

This includes all diseases of the heart and circulation. People with diabetes are four to five times more likely to develop CVD compared to people without diabetes.

Poorly controlled blood glucose, blood pressure and blood fat levels increase the possibility of narrowing and blocking of the arteries (atherosclerosis). This condition can lead to certain areas of the body being starved of essential oxygen and nutrients. If an artery to the heart becomes blocked it can cause a heart attack. If an artery to the brain becomes blocked it can cause a stroke.

Retinopathy

This is caused when the blood vessels in the retina become blocked, leak or grow in a haphazard fashion. This damage gets in the way of the light passing through to the retina and can damage your vision.

Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in the working age population in the UK.

Kidney disease

This disease occurs when the kidneys start to fail. It develops slowly over a number of years and can be a very serious condition. It is most common in people who have had diabetes for over 20 years.

Keeping blood glucose, blood pressure and blood fat levels under control can greatly reduce the risk of developing kidney disease.

Nerves

High blood glucose levels can damage the body’s nerves, weakening their ability to transmit signals. Raised blood glucose can also harm the blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients to the nerves.

Sensory neuropathy affects the nerves that carry messages from the skin, bones and muscles to the brain. It mainly occurs in the legs and feet but can also occur in the arms and hands. Symptoms include numbness, tingling and extreme sensitivity to touch.

Automatic neuropathy affects the nerves that control the automatic workings of the body. These include the sexual organs, stomach, intestine, sweat glands and sometimes the heart.

Motor neuropathy is rare and affects the eyes and muscles of the legs and feet. It causes muscle weakness and in certain areas muscle wasting can occur. If the nerves that supply the muscles in the foot are affected it can lead to the development of foot deformities.