What Triples the Risk of Developing Diabetes

A major pan-European study reported a while ago that a damaged beta cell in the pancreas that secrete insulin will have a triple risk of developing diabetes even among healthy people. In addition, they also double their risk for developing obese abdomen over a three year period.

These data are arrived at when compared to those whose beta cells are working normally. This RISC (Relationship between Insulin Sensitivity and Cardiovascular risk) study was undertaken to look at the role of insulin resistance in the worsening diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors.

The study observed 1500 middle-aged healthy people from fourteen European countries who are going through regular monitoring for insulin resistance and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, blood pressure, obesity, lipid levels and physical activity.

After three years, the follow-up data of 784 subjects revealed that insulin resistance was not the only reason for cardiometabolic risk. In addition to insulin resistance, central obesity and obesity contributed to the Insulin Resistance Syndrome with 1% who developed diabetes, 3% having impaired fasting glucose and 12% were observed to have impaired glucose tolerance.

These findings just confirmed the importance of physical activity for this has been found related to better insulin sensitivity . This was found true even in people who have abdominal obesity. And here's another important finding of this study. It also lowered the stiffening of the arterial wall which is age-related.

Mark Walker, professor of molecular diabetes at the University of Castle-Upon-Tyne reported the findings and recommended that the doctors have to persuade all patients whether they are healthy or not to be active physically
as this will lessen the triple risk to develop diabetes.

Do you want to know if you are at risk to develop diabetes? Here's a checklist for you to determine once and for all if you are at risk. The more "yes" responses you have, the more at risk you are. When you find you are at risk, please get tested so you can fight it better:

• Is there someone in your immediate family with diabetes, like your parents or brothers and sisters?
  


• Did you ever have gestational diabetes or have you ever given birth to a baby who weighs more than nine pounds?


• Is your cholesterol level not normal, that is your HDL cholesterol (good type) below 35 mg/dL, or is your triglyceride level above 250 mg/dL?
  


• Are you fairly physically inactive, that is you exercise less than three times a week?
  


• Is your ethnic background American Indian, Hispanic American, African American, Alaskan Native or Pacific Islander?
  


• Is your blood pressure 140/90 mm Hg or higher or have you ever been told you have high blood pressure?
  


• Do you have a history of cardiovascular disease?
  


• Have you ever had impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose on your previous test?
  


• Are you over 45 years old?
  


• Are you overweight?
  

Now you know if you are at risk to develop diabetes. What is the next step? Make an appointment to get tested for diabetes. If they find you have pre-diabetes, get going with a strategy to beat the condition and you will have a better chance at stopping this or delaying its coming. This is how to prevent diabetes.