Diabetes - Causes and Symptoms - written by JiniferSmith

Diabetes is divided into two major groups. Type 1 diabetes is one of the most common childhood diseases. Type 1 Diabetes is called Juvenile Diabetes as the onset of it begins in childhood. Type 2 diabetes is most common form of diabetes, accounting for 90% of cases. They concluded that most cases of type 2 diabetes is preventable by choosing a healthier lifestyle. The problem, in a nutshell, is that type 2 diabetes is not a simple disease caused by a single gene. The best way to control type 2 diabetes is with diet and exercise.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects the person capacity to make insulin. Insulin is a hormone that permits blood sugar or glucose to enter body cells. Because of diabetes much of the glucose remains in the blood of a person. The high blood sugar levels are harmful for your eyes, nerves, kidneys, heart and blood vessels.

The common symptoms of diabetes are too much urination or polyuria, excessive thirst or polydipsia, loss of weight, excessive starvation, nausea, extreme tiredness, infections, irritability and tiredness.

There are many symptoms for diabetes. The most recognizable for all types of diabetes is excessive thirst, hunger, and urination. Symptoms for Type I diabetes can develop quite rapidly, in as little as weeks or months. Symptoms for Type 2 diabetes are generally milder and can take much longer to surface.

The leading cause of diabetes, however, is being overweight. When you are overweight, your body becomes more resistant to insulin. This is particularly true if your BMI, or Body Mass Index, is greater than 30%. If you don't know your BMI, measure your waist. If you are female and your waist is bigger than 35 inches, or if you are male and your waist is bigger than 40 inches, you are at risk of developing diabetes.

The cause of type 1 diabetes is the islet cells of the pancreas. When your body starts to see one of your tissues as foreign, that is when this type of diabetes happens. This is a mistake of the immune system. In the case of diabetes, type 1, the cells that are seen as the enemy are the ones that produce insulin, the islet cells. The body then starts to fight against them, reducing their ability of producing insulin, thus leading to diabetes. The main cause for this disorder that leads to diabetes is genetics. It can also be a result of a viral infection, measles, rubella, polio that can be the cause of diabetes.

There are many causes for diabetes, which means that are many reasons why a person can develop diabetes type 2. The most common of all the factors that cause diabetes is genetics. Almost a half of the people who suffer from diabetes type 2 are brothers and sisters and one in three children of the same family will eventually suffer from diabetes. The second strongest cause of developing diabetes is obesity. That and an intake of many calories are the second and third of the diabetes causes.