If your reading this article, you want to know ‘how did I get diabetes’, or you may be wondering about a loved one. You also don’t want your diabetes to get any worse and you want to get it under control, possibly reduce your reliance on medication. So, what are the type 2 diabetes causes in the first place? The single most important contributor in its development, about 90% of type 2 diabetics are overweight.

Glucose or blood sugar is the engine that powers your body. Ordinarily, with the foods you eat, your body will turn these foods into glucose or blood sugar which in turn gives you energy. As your blood travels throughout your body and organs giving you energy, it will have problems getting into your cells if there is fat in the way. The fat will also release harmful free fatty acids into the blood stream. These free fatty acids in turn play havoc in your blood stream causing your pancreas to produce less insulin which is needed to absorb glucose.

Also these free fatty acids stay floating in your blood instead of being absorbed for energy. This can be the start of major trouble. Very little glucose absorption and limited insulin production is the beginning of diabetes. From there you may develop high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high triglycerides and serious problems leading to heart disease and problems with other body organs. So it makes sense that by cleaning up your ‘fuel line’, your blood can circulate throughout your body doing its job.

Having a sedentary lifestyle works hand in hand with being overweight is the main cause of type 2 diabetes. You can achieve big results with each small step you make in your lifestyle. If you can change one small bad habit today, then another tomorrow you can beat diabetes, or be well on the way. So any form of exercise to get your blood moving can make a difference and drastically reduce your risk.

Of course if you have a family background your chances increase. Having a parent with type 2 diabetes your chances are 15% you will get it. Consequently if both parents have type 2 diabetes your risk is elevated to 50%. Having a sibling with type 2 diabetes gives you a 10% chance and if your twin has type 2 diabetes your risk rises to 90%.

Having your insulin not working properly, doing the function of opening up cells to let your glucose in is another type 2 diabetes cause. This malfunction upsets the flow and is commonly called insulin resistance or Metabolic Syndrome. As time passes the pancreas also gets into difficulties and stops making enough insulin. Of course some diabetes causes cannot be controlled through diet; it is just that your pancreas cannot produce enough insulin for your particular body’s needs.