Introduction

Diabetes is a disease that affects how the body uses glucose (say: gloo-kose), a sugar that is the body's main source of fuel. Diabetes is a chronic condition that needs close attention, but with some practical knowledge, you can become your child's most important ally in learning to live with the disease.

"The prevalence of diabetes is going up because obesity is going up, " says Judith Fradkin, director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. "Generally, the first step in treatment is to make patients believe that diabetes is a disease that can be effectively controlled. The "amount of money it will cost in 10 years to manage diabetes is going to bust the economies" of many countries, says institute president Paul Robertson.

Diabetes

Diabetes, caused by the body's inability to produce or use insulin effectively to prevent a buildup of sugar in the blood, now afflicts nearly 21 million in the USA and roughly 250 million worldwide. Diabetes can also cause long-term complications in some people, including heart disease, stroke, vision impairment, and kidney damage. Diabetes can also cause other problems in the blood vessels, nerves, and gums.

Blood

During the past decade, medical studies have shown that by reducing high blood pressure and cholesterol and keeping blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible, diabetics can forestall many of the disabling complications that once seemed inevitable. This knowledge, along with simpler, more accurate blood tests and better drugs, has improved treatment, says Buse, an endocrinologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "New drug treatments, more accurate methods for monitoring blood sugar levels and assessing control of diabetes, and practical steps that patients can take are more common than ever, she says. Until 1993, it wasn't clear that lowering blood sugar prevented or delayed complications, and it's only within the past decade that doctors learned that managing blood pressure and cholesterol reduced complications, she says.

Type

There are two major forms of diabetes: type 1, an autoimmune disease that results in loss of the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas and usually occurs in children or young adults, who need daily insulin shots; and type 2, which accounts for 90% of diabetes cases and is associated with obesity and inactivity and reduces the ability to use insulin efficiently.

Type 1 diabetes (formerly called insulin-dependent diabetes or juvenile diabetes) occurs when the person's own immune system attacks and destroys the cells of the pancreas that produce insulin. Type 1 diabetes occurs at about the same rate in men and women, but it is more common in Whites than in minorities.

Type 2 diabetes (formerly called non-insulin-dependent diabetes) is different. Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes about 9 out of 10 people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is more common in older people, mainly in people who are overweight.

Conclusion

The best way to prevent diabetes is to make some lifestyle changes and maintain a healthy weight.