Question: What is Type II diabetes?

Type II diabetes is a metabolic disorder resulting from the body’s inability to make or properly use insulin. (Insulin is a hormone that converts sugar, starches and other foods into energy.) It occurs when the body produces plenty of insulin, but the insulin cannot do its job. For some reason, the cells in the body have become resistant to insulin. In most cases, being overweight or obese for a period of time could bring on the insulin resistance. But there are people who are obese for many years who never develop diabetes. So scientists suspect that some people have a genetic predisposition (their particular family genes make them more likely to develop Type II diabetes under certain conditions such as with aging, weight gain, or an inactive lifestyle).

Ninety to 95 percent of people with diabetes have Type II. About five to 10 percent have Type I (usually diagnosed among children or in young adults, and usually not associated with obesity).

Source: Elaine Magee, “Tell Me What to Eat if I Have Diabetes,” New Page Books, 2004

Republished by Blood Glucose

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