Diabetes: Diabetes Mellitus and Blood Sugar Level Essay

Submitted By AliAlkhazragii
Words: 910
Pages: 4

In Canada and U.S, where you find fast food restaurants in every nook and corner, many people face the challenge of fighting obesity which is an obvious consequence of accommodating fast food in their regular diet. However, this alarming trend leads to many health related issues such as life threatening "Diabetes".
Diabetes is a serious life-long illness caused by high level of glucose in the blood. This condition arises when the body cannot produce insulin from the pancreas or even secrete it but in an insufficient amount .Insulin is a hormone that moderates the blood level.
Diabetes occurs in several forms but the major ones are Type I and II diabetes and gestational diabetes

Type I diabetes is also known as “insulin-dependent diabetes” because it typically occurs in children and young adults and sometimes in old ages too. The symptoms for Type I diabetes are frequent urination, extreme thirst and hunger, unusual weight loss, and exhaustion. Young adolescents are able to continue a fit lifestyle with the treatment of insulin therapy.
Although living with this type of illness is challenging, a person has the capability to do normal things that anyone can do. Moreover several things such as environment, genetics, or eating unhealthy can cause diabetes. The risk of type 1 diabetes occurring in the child is 1 in 17 (American Diabetes Association). For women, if she had the child before 25 the risk is 1 in 25. If she had the child after 25, the risk is 1 in 100 (American Diabetes Association).

Type II diabetes is similar to Type I but it puts the person at higher risk. Type II diabetes was once known as non-insulin dependent or adult-onset diabetes. People with type II diabetes could either have pancreas that does not produce the necessary amount of insulin or does not respond to insulin. This condition is called insulin resistance. Without insulin, glucose cannot go into the body’s cells.
The symptoms for Type II diabetes are similar to Type I but also includes blurred vision, infections, and numbness in the hands or feet
Symptoms do not usually show during the early stages (Metzger, 2006). Before developing type II diabetes, a person can be diagnosis with prediabetes. Prediabetes is defined to be when a person’s blood glucose level is high but not at the target level for type II diabetes
Before, it was rare for a child to be diagnosed with type II diabetes. According to WebMD (2012), there are more than thousands of young adolescents with both types. Being overweight is the one of the main reasons why children get type II. Also type II diabetes is caused by genetics. If either one of the parents have type II diabetes, the possibility for the child is 1 in 7 (American Diabetes Association). There’s a theory that the mother with type II diabetes, her child will have a higher risk (American Diabetes Association).

Gestational Diabetes occurs during pregnancy. Gestational Diabetes develops when a pregnant women has high blood sugar levels. When a woman has gestational diabetes, her pancreas works harder to produce insulin. Although there is insulin, the blood glucose level does not lower down so the extra blood glucose goes through the placenta. It will cause the baby’s pancreas to produce more insulin than its needs. The baby will have unnecessary energy that will than develop into fat.
The symptoms for gestational diabetes are the same as Type I diabetes. It is recommended to get treated quickly if neither the mother nor the baby want to get affected. American