Before answering the question of what causes adult diabetes, it is best to distinguish it from the other types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is something usually seen in young people. The pancreas is unable to produce insulin, which is necessary to survive. So insulin has to be introduced either orally or intravenously to keep the blood sugar level from becoming too high.
Type 2 diabetes is usually developed in adulthood, and thus referred to as adult diabetes. What causes adult diabetes is pretty well documented in the last few decades. The disturbing fact is that type 2 diabetes is being seen at younger ages as the years go on. So perhaps the more relevant question is what causes adult diabetes to develop at increasingly younger ages.
Let’s Explore What Causes Adult Onset Diabetes
Type 2, or adult onset diabetes is the resistance of the body to insulin, or the reduction in the amount of insulin produced. Sometimes the reduction becomes a complete lack of insulin production. This is not something a person is born with. Rather, it develops over time, and usually begins without symptoms, so the person may go for years with elevated blood sugar levels without even knowing it. Damage caused from diabetes begins and is given a head start. The factors of what causes adult diabetes are mostly high blood pressure, poor diet, obesity, lifestyle, and ethnicity.
What causes adult diabetes to appear at earlier ages than previously is our changing lifestyle. And it is not changing for the better. Younger people, and people of all ages, live a more sedentary lifestyle. More meals are eaten at restaurants, which are generally less healthy than those prepared at home from scratch with fresh ingredients. Processed foods have become part of our normal daily diet instead of an exception.
What Causes Adult Diabetes besides Poor Diet and Exercise Choices?
Bad habits that we take up, despite knowing the consequences, are a known factor. Smoking is back on the rise among teenagers, which leads to high blood pressure in many cases. We won’t even go into the other negative consequences of smoking, but high blood pressure and diabetes is a lethal combination. Alcohol is another factor. Consuming too much alcohol puts a person at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Ethnicity is also a factor. For reasons unknown, Asians develop adult diabetes at a much higher rate than any other ethnic group.
What Can Be Done To Prevent Adult Diabetes?
Since we understand what causes adult diabetes, the prevention of it seems obvious. Exercise regularly and start early. If you have children, encourage them to be active and get up from their video games and TV sets.
Eat a healthy diet, high in vegetables and grains. This has the added benefit of avoiding getting overweight. If you are already borderline diabetic, start looking into some of the natural and alternative medicine choices available. The earlier they are started, the more likely the rate of success.
