Katie Stowe

Jean Widdison
HLTH 1020
14 July 2016

Diabetes is diagnosed when a person has too much glucose (sugar) in their blood. This
happens because the pancreas is not making enough insulin to maintain the glucose levels.
Glucose is also stored in the liver as a back up supply for our bodies. This helps us to maintain
glucose levels even if we havent eaten. Insulin is produced in the pancreas and has two jobs in
the body. The first job of the pancreas is to transport glucose from the blood supply into the fat
and muscle cells of the body, where is can be used as energy. The second is to tell the liver when
to switch off once the glucose levels in the blood are high enough. When the body does not
create enough insulin to keep blood glucose levels at a steady range it results in diabetes.
Diabetes currently cannot be cured; however with regular dieting and exercise, it can be
controlled.
There are three main types of diabetes. The first commonly diagnosed form of diabetes is
type 1, also known as insulin-dependent or juvenile- onset diabetes). Risks factors for type 1
diabetes are usually inherited from both parents. It can be diagnosed at any time life. It is though
that type 1 is more common in whites because whites have the highest rate of type 1 diabetes
(American Diabetes Association 1). Researchers believe that there is a possibility that type 1 has
environmental triggers. One trigger could be cold weather. They have found that diabetes
develops more often during the colder seasons than any other time of year. Another possibly
trigger is the exposure to viruses. A virus that only have mild effect on one person. Could trigger
type 1 diabetes in another person ( www.diabetes.org). They have also noticed that people who
were breastfed as babies, have a lower risk of developing diabetes, then those who were not.
People with low levels or no levels of insulin are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Because the
immune system is destroying the pancreas, the body is not getting the energy it needs from
glucose. These people tend to lose a lot of weight and fast, because their bodies are starving from
the lack of glucose.
The second commonly diagnosed form of diabetes is type 2, Also known as adult-onset
diabetes, and non-insulin dependent diabetes. Type 2 is more commonly linked to family history
and lineage than type 1; however type 2 diabetes is also strongly affected by environmental

factors. Type 2 is developed and diagnosed after the age of 50. There are several risk factors that
have been associated with type 2 diabetes (www.idf.org/about-diabetes/risk-factors). They
include:

Family history of diabetes

Overweight

Unhealthy diet

Physical inactivity

Increasing age

High blood pressure

Ethnicity

Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT)

If you have a family history of type 2 diabetes, it might be hard to figure out whether your
diabetes is due to lifestyle factors (unhealthy eating, inactivity, overweight ect.) or if its from
genetic susceptibility. Studies do show that it is possible to delay or prevent type 2 diabetes by
exercising and weights lose. Since type 2 runs in families it is a good idea to start training your
children from a young age on how to eat properly and exercise regularly. In general, if you have
type 2 diabetes, the risk of your child developing diabetes is 1 in 7, if you were diagnosed before
the age of 50. If you were diagnosed after the age of 50 their chances are 1 in 13
(www.diabetes.org). What we teach our children from a young age will stay with them their
whole lives.
The third commonly diagnosed from of diabetes is gestational diabetes. This occurs in
some pregnant women. Gestational diabetes affects how your cells use glucose (sugar) and can
cause high blood sugar levels. This can be bad for the pregnancy and the unborn baby. If
diagnosed with gestational diabetes, your baby may be at increased risk for: Excessive birth
weight. Extra glucose in your bloodstream crosses the placenta, which triggers your babys
pancreas to make more insulin. This can cause the baby to grow too large to fast. The pregnancy
could also be at risk for preterm birth, stillborn delivery, hypoglycemia, and the possibility your
baby could develop type 2 diabetes later in life.
The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), a major federally funded study, showed that people can
delay and possibly prevent diabetes by losing a small amount of weight through thirty minutes of
physical activity every day (ww.cdc.gov). Exercise can help you lose weight, lower blood sugar,

and boost your sensitivity to insulin. Other ways to decrees your risks of diabetes are: get lost of
fiber. This will help lower your risk of heart disease and promote weight lose. Eating whole
grains can help maintain blood sugar levels. All there forms of diabetes are manageable. Get
regular checkups and know what you are at risk for. If diagnosed with diabetes, there are ways to
treat it.
Each form of diabetes has its own form of treatment. The goal for all forms is to control the
blood sugar (glucose) levels. Type 1 diabetes is managed with insulin injections as well as
dietary changes and exercise. Type 2 diabetes may be managed with non- insulin medications,
insulin injections, weight reduction, or dietary changes (www.medicinenet). Diabetes does not
need to be life threaten. It all boils down to eating health and staying active!
Type 2 diabetes runs in my family on my Mothers side. I had a very minimal knowledge
of the extent of diabetes in my family and about diabetes in general, until this assignment. I knew
my great grandma Meme had passed away because of her diabetes, but since I never knew her, I
didnt know the whole store and the extent of her diabetes. In order to learn more I decided to
ask my mother (Susannah Longoria). She told me that my grandma Meme was diagnosed with
type 2 diabetes later in life. Because she did nothing to care for it. She later lost her legs and then
her life. I decided to get more information about our family history, so I went to grandma
Memes oldest son, my grandpa Gurnie Cook.
He told me that grandma Memes father had diabetes, which was also not well maintained; due
to how informed everyone was back in the late 1800s. Grandma Meme developed and was
diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in her late 40s. She was already very much over weight, which
was most likely one of the triggering factors to her diabetes. As the years passed she continued to
gain weight and eventually she was placed in a wheel chair. Shortly after grandma Meme
developed Peripheral Arterial Disease (PDA). Peripheral arterial disease is when there is a
reduction of blood flow to the feet. Many will develop nerve disease, reduce sensation, get
ulcers, and infection that may lead to and amputation.
Along with developing heart disease, my grandma lost both her legs due to peripheral arterial
disease and later passed away by the age of 62 years old. Not only did the memories of grandma
Meme stick with my family and my grandpa Gurnie, but so did the risk of developing type 2
diabetes. My grandpa who served his career as a San Francisco police officer, always managed to
stay active and in shape. He worked out frequently and ate healthy. Not only for the job, but
because he knew of our family history with diabetes. Once he retired he found it hard to stay on
top of everything. He started eating worse and not being as active.
Around the age of 65 he was warned by his doctor that if he didnt change his life style, he too
would develop diabetes. My grandpa is currently 74 year old. Every day he wakes up, has his
breakfast, and goes on a walk. He watches what he eats. This unfortunately means giving up his

favorite food, fried chicken. My grandpa is losing a little bit of weight at a time and is slowly
managing his risk of diabetes. He will have to do this the rest of his life, if he hopes to avoid the
diagnosis.
I too have had my own battles with the possibility of diabetes. While I was pregnant, my glucose
levels were tested quite frequently. Each time they came back very high in sugar. My doctor
decided to have me tested for gestational diabetes early on in the pregnancy. Luckily, the results
came back that I was not gestational, but I was borderline. I had to spend the rest of my
pregnancy, monitoring what I ate and trying my best to get in some physical activity every day.
Because of my families high risk for diabetes, I too am at a high risk and so are my children. I
will teach them from a young age how to eat right and stay active. Hopefully this will help this to
avoid the possibility of diabetes and set them out for a healthy happy life style.
I was interested to learn how diabetes affects the rest of the United States and here are the
statistics I found. In 2012 29.1 million Americans or 9.3% of the population had diabetes.
Approximately 1.25 million American children and adults have type 1 diabetes. Of the 29.1
million, 21.0 million were diagnose and 8.1 million were undiagnosed. 1.4 million Americans are
diagnosed with diabetes every year! Diabetes remains the 7th leading cause of death in the United
States in 2010, with 69,071 deaths certificates listing it as the underlining cause of death, and a
total of 234,051 death certificates listing diabetes as an underlying of contributing cause of death
(www.diabetes.org).
With the amount of knowledge and recourses we have now. We should see less diagnoses of
diabetes and have more treatments for those who do develop diabetes. Unlike the 1800s- early
1900s we have so much more information that would should be seeing these numbers going
down and less stores like my Grandma Memes. Diabetes can be scary but we do have the ability
to control it and possibly prevent it. Know your medical history and know yours odds. You too
could lower your risk of diabetes.

Work Cited
-Foundations of Nutrition, Gordon M. Wardlaw Ph.D, Anne M. Smith Ph.D, R.D, L.D., Anqela
L. Collene M.S., R.D., L.D.
-American Diabetes Association, www.diabetes.org
-Websites include:
www.diabetes.org.nz
www.IDF.org
www.cdc.gov
www.mayoclinic.gov
-Persons interviewd:
Gurnie L. Cook ( my Grandfather)