Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes

The main risk factor for type 2 diabetes is obesity: 80 to 90% of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight. Obesity causes insulin resistance, possibly by increasing the blood levels of building blocks of fats (fatty acids) and certain proteins that interfere with the action of insulin. Older people tend to accumulate more body fat as they age, thus their risk of developing diabetes increases. Normal accumulation of fat with aging is a small part of the problem. The lion's share of the problem stems from eating too much and exercising too little.

Muscle mass also decreases in older adults. Muscles use sugar for energy, so less muscle means that less sugar is consumed for energy and more sugar is converted to fat.

Aging itself puts people at higher risk of developing diabetes. As people age, insulin secretion tends to decrease slightly and insulin resistance tends to increase slightly, even among people without obesity or diabetes. Therefore, even older people who do not have diabetes tend to have slightly higher blood sugar levels after eating than do their younger counterparts.

Heredity is a risk factor as well. Diabetes is especially likely to develop among blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians as well as among people whose parents or other close relatives had the disease.

Back to Diabetes Mellitus.