What Causes Diabetes? - Is It Hereditary, Environmental Or Both?

Though healthcare researchers and professionals do not know exactly what causes diabetes, there is sufficient evidence to support the fact that it is caused by several different factors. Actions can be taken to prevent or delay the onset of the condition in many cases.

What causes diabetes differs by the type of diabetes being dealt with. Type 1 Diabetes, the condition in which the body does not produce the insulin needed to break down glucose into energy fuel for the body seems to be caused by genetics, malnutrition, and/or environmental factors such as a virus affecting the pancreas. Type 2 Diabetes occurs when the body builds a resistance to the insulin hormone, and therefore causes the body’s process of converting glucose to energy to malfunction. The primary cause of this condition seems to be obesity; however, being overweight does not mean a sentence to becoming diabetic, and being a healthy weight does not necessarily prevent a diabetic condition.

Genetics do play a role in what causes diabetes. The closer the blood relation to the family member affected by diabetes, the more likely you are to be diagnosed yourself. For instance, if you mother has the condition, you are more likely to get it than if it were only a cousin, and if both parents have the condition, you are more likely than if just one parent has the condition.

As a person ages, their risk for diabetes increases because they become less active, and often gain weight, which gives the body more fat cells, and an increased chance of developing the insulin resistance which creates diabetes.

Malnutrition and poor diet including an increased amount of fat and processed foods are a possible link to a cause of diabetes. Along with this cause, comes the sedentary lifestyle, and fat distribution. The less active you are, the less energy you burn, so excess glucose in turn stores itself as fat. The more fat cells present in the body, the greater the chance that those cells will become resistant to insulin.

Several prescription medications used to treat other conditions, such as seroquel , geodon and many others are known to induce onset of diabetes. An infection in the pancreas can also induce the condition as it creates a hindrance in the pancreas’ ability to function correctly. Other conditions, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol levels trigger the condition.

With so many factors playing a contributing role in the onset of diabetes, it is hard to pinpoint exactly what causes diabetes. The best practice is to lead a healthy lifestyle, monitor your risk levels, and seek proper treatment when necessary.