5 MYTHS ABOUT TYPE 2 DIABETES

The condition is incredibly common-and so is confusion about who gets it and how to manage it.

- TULA KARRAS

1 MYTH: You won't develop type 2 diabetes if it's not in your family tree.

MYTHBUSTER

Anyone can develop diabetes. Having a family history of the disease raises your risk, as does lack of physical activity, a poor diet, and carrying a lot of weight. But even people who don't have family members with diabetes aren't completely safe. "There are genes that predispose us to diabetes, but this won't necessarily show up in your family history," says John Merendino, M.D., an endocrinologist and an assistant clinical professor of medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine. If your grandfather had a genetic tendency, for example, but was an avid marathoner, he might not have developed it. Your best move: Starting at age 35, get checked, unless your M.D. advises you to start screening earlier.

2 MYTH: Symptoms of diabetes are pretty obvious.

MYTHBUSTER