Type 2 Diabetes is a life-long chronic condition that affects the way your body metabolizes sugar – the essential source of fuel for growth and energy. With Type 2 Diabetes, your body either resists the effects of insulin – an essential hormone that regulates the movement of sugar into your cells – or doesn’t produce enough insulin to maintain a normal glucose level. Even though there is no permanent cure for Type 2 Diabetes, you may be able to manage this condition by making healthy lifestyle changes.

What are the Common Symptoms?

Signs and symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes often develop slowly, and they may include:

• Unusual Thirst and Frequent Urination: Excess sugar building up in your bloodstream causes fluid to be pulled from the tissues, leaving you thirsty. As a result, you may need to drink more water and urinate more than usual.
• Increased Hunger: Without enough insulin to move sugar into your cells, your muscles and organs become drained of energy, triggering intense hunger.
• Weight Loss: Insufficient insulin prevents your body from getting glucose from the blood to the cells to use as energy. When this occurs, the body starts burning fat and muscle for energy, causing a reduction in your overall body weight.
• Extreme Fatigue: When your cells are deprived of sugar, you may feel tired and weak.
• Blurred Vision: When your blood sugar is too high, fluid may be pulled from the lenses of your eyes, affecting your ability to focus.
• Slow-healing Wounds: Over time, high levels of blood glucose caused by Type 2 Diabetes can affect your nerves and lead to poor blood circulation. This makes hard for blood needed for skin repair to reach areas of your body affected by sores or wounds.
• Areas of Darkened Skin: Some people with type 2 diabetes have patches of dark, velvety skin in the folds and creases of their bodies — usually in the armpits and neck. This condition is known as Acanthosis Nigricans and is a sign of insulin resistance.

What are the Causes?

Although the exact cause of this phenomenon is unknown, genetics and environmental factors like overweight or obesity, lack of physical exercise and unhealthy meal choices seem to be the most common contributing factors.

What is the Role of Genetics in Type 2 Diabetes?

Type 2 Diabetes can be hereditary, but family history is only one of the risk factors for this condition. When your parents or other family members have Diabetes and suffer from the complications, you are at an increased risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes later in life. However, following a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight and doing regular exercise can lower your risk of developing this chronic lifetime disease.

How does Insulin Work?

Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that allows your body to use sugar (glucose) from carbohydrates in the food for energy or for storing glucose for future use.

• Pancreas releases insulin into the bloodstream.
• Insulin circulates, allowing sugar to enter your cells.
• Insulin reduces the amount of sugar in your bloodstream.
• Your blood sugar level drops, so does the secretion of insulin from your pancreas.

How does Glucose Work?

Glucose is a simple sugar which is an important energy source in living organisms and is a component of many carbohydrates.

• Glucose from dietary sources is digested, absorbed and transported to the liver.
• Sugar is then released into the general blood stream, where it enters cells with the help of insulin.
• Your liver stores and makes glucose.
• When your glucose levels are low (for instance, when you haven’t eaten for a while) the liver breaks down stored glycogen (a form of glucose that the body stores for future use) into glucose to keep your glucose level normal.

In Type 2 Diabetes, this process doesn’t work properly. Sugar builds up in your bloodstream, instead of moving into your cells. As blood sugar levels increase, the insulin-producing beta cells in pancreas release more insulin. Eventually, these cells become impaired and can’t make enough insulin to meet the body’s demands.

In Type 1 Diabetes, which is much less common than type 2 diabetes, the immune system destroys the beta cells, leaving the body with little to no insulin.

What are the Risk Factors?

Even though the exact cause is unknown, the possible risk factors may include:

• Weight: Being overweight or obese is a primary risk factor for Type 2 Diabetes. The more excess weight you have, the more resistant your cells become to insulin.
• Being Physically Inactive: The less active you are, the greater your risk of Type 2 Diabetes. Physical activities help you control your weight and use glucose as energy, making your cells more sensitive to insulin.
• Family History: The risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes can increase if your parent or sibling has Type 2 Diabetes.
• Age: The risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes may increase as you get older, especially after 45. That’s probably because people tend to exercise less, lose muscle mass and gain weight as they age.
• Gestational Diabetes: If you had developed Gestational Diabetes when you were pregnant, your risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes can increase. If you had given birth to a baby weighing more than 4 kilograms, you’re also at risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes.
• Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS): For women, having PCOS (a common condition characterized by irregular menstrual periods, excess hair growth and obesity) may increase the risk of Type 2 Diabetes.

What are the Complications Associated with Type 2 Diabetes?

People with diabetes are at risk for long-term complications such as:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Nerve damage (neuropathy)
• Kidney damage (nephropathy)
• Eye damage (retinopathy)
• Foot damage
• Skin conditions
• Hearing impairment
• Alzheimer’s disease

How to Diagnose Type 2 Diabetes?

Diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes includes the below-mentioned tests:

• Glycated Hemoglobin (A1C) Test: This blood test indicates your average blood sugar level for the past two to three months, measuring the percentage of blood sugar attached to hemoglobin – the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells.

The higher your blood sugar levels, the more hemoglobin you’ll have with sugar attached. An A1C level of 6.5 percent or higher on two separate tests indicates you have Diabetes. A result between 5.7 and 6.4 percent is considered Prediabetes, which indicates a high risk of developing Diabetes. Normal levels are below 5.7 percent.

• Random Blood Sugar test: A blood sample will be taken at a random time and blood sugar values are expressed in milligrams per decilitre (mg/dL) or millimoles per litre (mmol/L). Regardless of when you last ate, a random blood sugar level of 200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) or higher suggests Diabetes, especially when coupled with any of the signs and symptoms of Diabetes, such as frequent urination and extreme thirst.
• Fasting Blood Sugar Test: A blood sample will be taken after an overnight fast. A fasting blood sugar level less than 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L) is normal. A fasting blood sugar level from 100 to 125 mg/dL (5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L) is considered Prediabetes. If it’s 126 mg/dL (7 mmol/L) or higher on two separate tests, you have Diabetes.
• Oral Glucose Tolerance Test: For this test, you fast overnight and the fasting blood sugar level is measured. Then you drink a sugary liquid, and blood sugar levels are tested periodically for the next two hours. A blood sugar level less than 140 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L) is normal. A reading between 140 and 199 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L and 11.0 mmol/L) indicates Prediabetes. A reading of 200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) or higher after two hours may indicate Diabetes.

How to Manage Type 2 Diabetes?

These steps will help you keep your blood sugar level closer to normal, which can delay or prevent complications of Type 2 Diabetes:

• Healthy diet
• Regular exercise
• Possibly, diabetes medication or insulin therapy
• Blood sugar monitoring

How to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes?

Adopting healthy lifestyle choices is the most effective way to prevent Type 2 Diabetes. Even if you have Diabetes in your family, diet and exercise can help you prevent the condition. If you’ve already received a diagnosis of diabetes, you can use healthy lifestyle choices to help prevent the complications.

Below-mentioned are some of the tips to prevent Type 2 Diabetes:

• Maintain a healthy weight
• Follow a healthy, nutritious diet (Eat a variety of fruits & vegetables)
• Drink plenty of water
• Do regular exercise
• Manage stress
• Get an adequate amount of sleep (7-9 hours)
• Undergo regular health check-ups

The prevalence of Diabetes among adults in the UAE is 15.6 percent and it is rising at a faster rate. One in five people in the UAE has Diabetes, making it one of the most crucial healthcare challenges in the country. Most of these cases are Type 2 Diabetes, which is largely preventable through doing regular exercise, following a healthy diet, and promoting healthy living environments.