Join dLife Today!
dLife membership gives you exclusive access! Get free recipes, newsletters, savings, and so much more!
Membership is FREE!

Type 2 Diabetes: Causes and Risk Factors

The exact causes of type 2 diabetes aren’t completely understood, but it is known that the disease has a strong hereditary component. Individuals who have a parent or sibling with type 2 diabetes have 3.5 times greater risk of developing the disease than people without a family history.1 The risk is much higher if the sibling is an identical twin. Environmental factors like an inactive lifestyle or poor diet may act as a trigger for someone with a genetic tendency toward type 2 diabetes. Other potential causes of type 2 include chronic stress, low birth weight (and associated fetal malnourishment), and gene mutations.

Diabetes risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes include:
  • Overweight or obesity. Having a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more
  • Heredity. Having a parent or sibling with type 2 diabetes
  • Ethnicity. Being of African American, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian American, Pacific Islander or Latino descent Gestational diabetes
  • A history of gestational diabetes, or having at least one baby weighing more than 9 pounds at birth
  • Hypertension. High blood pressure of 140/90 mm Hg or higher
  • Poor cholesterol profile. HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol) levels of 35 or lower and/or triglyceride levels of 250 or higher
  • Inactivity. Living a sedentary lifestyle (i.e.,exercising less than three times a week)
  • Being an older adult. Studies show that 20.9% of Americans age 60 or older have type 2 diabetes.2
  • Having diagnosed prediabetes


    According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 85% of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese (i.e., a BMI of 25 or higher).3 Here’s why excess fat increases insulin resistance:

  • Fat cells have fewer insulin receptors (the place where insulin binds to open the cell to glucose) than muscle cells.
  • Fat cells release free fatty acids, and free fatty acids interfere with glucose metabolism.
  • Excess glucose that can’t be used by the cells for energy is stored as body fat, increasing the cellular mass that the pancreas is trying to “feed” via insulin. In overweight people, insulin production is increased to meet.


    • SOURCES:

    1 - National Institutes of Health. Researchers Identify New Genetic Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes. (Accessed 2/11/08).

    2 - National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse. National Diabetes Statistics. (Accessed 2/12/08).

    3 - Weight Control Information Network. Do You Know the Health Risks of Being Overweight?. (Accessed 2/11/08).

    Last Modified Date: July 1, 2009


    All content on dLife.com is created and reviewed in compliance with our editorial policy.