1500 B.C.

Type 2 diabetes was previously called non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) or adult-onset diabetes. Type 1 diabetes was previously called insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) or juvenile-onset diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is associated with older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, history of gestational diabetes, impaired glucose metabolism, physical inactivity, and race/ethnicity. Type 2 diabetes is increasingly being diagnosed in children and adolescents.

Diabetes can affect many parts of the body and can lead to serious complications such as blindness, kidney damage, and lower-limb amputations. Controlling the levels of blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood lipids and receiving other preventive care can help prevent these complications.

Helps cells take in sugar from the blood.

Being overweight and inactive increases the chances of developing type 2 diabetes. But by making changes in your lifestyle such as losing weight and being more physically active, you may avoid developing type 2 diabetes. In 2001, the National Institutes of Health completed the Diabetes Prevention Program which found that these lifestyle changes reduced the risk of diabetes by 58 percent.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases reports that on average, Mexican Americans (the largest Hispanic/Latino subgroup), American Indians and Alaska Natives are over 2 times as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites of similar age (2002 statistics). Non-Hispanic blacks are, on average, 1.6 times as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites of similar age.

The hormones related to the fetus cause insulin resistance, plus the pancreas can't provide enough insulin. Gestational diabetes indicates an increased risk to develop type 2 diabetes.

B and C.

Exercise makes the cells more sensitive to insulin. Muscles use more blood sugar during exercise, so the level of sugar decreases, which reduces the need for insulin.