Examining the Causes of Diabetes

Although the number of people diagnosed each year continues to grow, diabetes often still remains a very mysterious disease to most doctors. While there are several indications on how to detect, treat, and manage the lack of or resistance to insulin in the body, there are very few clear factors that lead to the definite causes of the disease. However, there are some common factors that doctors have found people with diabetes tend to share with one another.

Poor or improper diet seems to be one cause that people with diabetes have alike. Eating unbalanced meals often leads to higher levels of sugar in the blood. Consuming too much in carbohydrates, proteins, and fats can lead to damage to the body. In some cases, the overeating of these elements can cause the pancreas to not function properly. Thus, the secretion of insulin by the pancreas is affected and diabetes develops.

Another factor that is typically linked to the cause of diabetes is obesity or being overweight. This is most commonly seen in diabetes mellitus. The extra fat in the person's body often causes the muscles and tissue to resist insulin although it is being produced by the pancreas. This most often occurs in people that have a body fat of more than 30%. The lack of activity and exercise also tends to make a body more vulnerable to diabetes.

In other cases, viruses can actually lead to a person becoming a person with diabetes. The virus Coxsackie B can damage the pancreas. Therefore, the pancreas cannot properly produce insulin. Hormonal disorders such as Addison's disease, Hashimoto's disease, and hypothyroidism can also contribute to diabetes in people that have the disorders.

Many people believe that part of the cause of diabetes is tied directly to inherited traits. The possibility and probability of diabetes being passed from one generation to another depends on how closely related the person with diabetes persons are related and the number of people in the family that have the disease. For example, the chances are much greater for a child to be person with diabetes if that child has two person with diabetes parents. When the diabetes is found in great grandparents or aunts and uncles, the chances are slimmer that heredity will be the cause.

The risk of developing diabetes also increases as a person gets older. Age often plays a big part in being person with diabetes. Older people tend to gain more weight and exercise less as they age. This is likely why older people are more susceptible to the disease.

There is no one factor that people can avoid to prevent diabetes. In some cases, normal weight, active individuals that eat properly develop the disease of diabetes. However, exercising, maintaining a healthy diet, and carrying out an exercise regiment are a good start in preventing you and your family from becoming person with diabetes. If you are diagnosed with diabetes, it is important to examine your lifestyle for any factors that could be possible contributors to the disease. Controlling these factors may be key in controlling your diabetes.