Can you REVERSE your diabetes?

Is obesity a factor? Does it affect Covid-19 risk? We answer your questions about Type 2 diabetes

WHAT IS DIABETES?

It’s a condition where there’s too much glucose in the blood. Usually these levels are controlled by insulin produced in the pancreas. When someone has diabetes, they’re either not producing insulin, or the insulin produced isn’t working properly, and this leads to a build up of sugar in the blood. There are two types:

Type 1 – an auto-immune disease where the body attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells. It accounts for just 8% of diabetes cases.

Type 2 – is more connected to lifestyle and accounts for more than 90% of cases. ‘If someone has Type 2, the amount of insulin produced by the pancreas may be reduced or the insulin it produces doesn’t work properly,’ says Natasha Marsland, senior clinical advisor at Diabetes UK.

Diabetes is a serious condition. If left untreated, high glucose levels can damage blood vessels, nerves and organs and cause kidney disease, heart disease and even blindness.

IS IT CAUSED BY OBESITY?

Not everyone with T2 diabetes is obese – only half are in the obese range. ‘There are 10% in the normal range,’ says diabetes expert Professor Roy Taylor. ‘And four out of 10 are overweight.’