Non Insulin Dependent Diabetes

Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or adult-onset diabetes, which is now more commonly known as Type 2 diabetes, accounts for about 90 to 95 per cent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. It usually starts with insulin resistance, which means insulin is being produced by the body but the cells are not able to utilise it properly. This creates a need for more insulin but this tends to overtax the pancreas and progressively compromises its capability to secrete insulin.

If you have a family history of diabetes, an impaired glucose tolerance, or you are obese and you lack physical activity, then you may have a high risk of developing a non-insulin-dependent diabetes. The most notable factor involved in the near-epidemic growth of Type 2 diabetes is the corresponding increase in the prevalence of obesity and an ever-increasing sedentary Western lifestyle. Not all people who are obese and sedentary develop Type 2 diabetes, but these two are important risk factors for insulin resistance.

While this disease used to be more common among adults above 40 years old, a number of children and young adults are now being diagnosed for non-insulin-dependent diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is likely to be diagnosed in overweight children, age 10 or older in their middle to late puberty (onset of adulthood), but cases of children age 4 have been documented.

You may not feel any symptoms for years. When they occur, however, they include polyuria, polyphagia, polydipsia, extreme fatigue, blurred vision, weight loss. Other symptoms also include irritability, recurring infections and slow healing of sores, and a tingling sensation in your hands or feet.

The main management tools for non-insulin-dependent diabetes are diet and exercise. It is also advisable to shed a few pounds because weight loss usually helps in restoring normal glucose metabolism. Exercise, on the other hand, makes body cells more sensitive to insulin thus less hormone is needed to allow glucose into the cells.

If these main tools are not enough to keep blood glucose at normal levels, medication may be needed to promote increased secretions of insulin or to improve cellular glucose uptake. In a few cases, it may be necessary to administer insulin to restore blood glucose levels to normal.

Information On How You Can Manage & Control Diabetes