What is type 2 diabetes?

Diabetes is a condition in which the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood is too high because the body cannot use it properly.

Glucose comes from the digestion of starchy carbohydrate foods such as bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, cereals, chapatis, yams and plantain. It also comes from sugar and other sweet foods (cakes, biscuits etc.), and from the liver which makes glucose.

Insulin is produced in the pancreas and is used to transfer glucose from the bloodstream to the cells of the body where it can be used as fuel. If there is not enough insulin to do this, the glucose builds up in the bloodstream.

Type 2 diabetes develops when the body can still make some insulin, but not enough, or when the insulin that is produced does not work properly (known as insulin resistance).

The diagram below shows what happens inside your body when you have type 2 diabetes:

Risk factors

There are certain factors that put you at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. These include:

Age: If you’re over the age of 40 or over 25 if you are African-Caribbean, Black African or South Asian

Weight: If you are overweight, especially if you carry your weight around your middle

Ethnicity: People of African-Caribbean, Black African and South Asian descent are two to four times more likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes

Family history: You are two to six times more likely to get type 2 diabetes if you have a parent, brother, sister or child with diabetes

Blood pressure: If you’ve ever had high blood pressure this increases your risk