What makes me at risk of developing type 2 diabetes?

There are many factors that can increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. We can break them down into modifiable and non-modifiable. Modifiable are factors that you are able to change and non-modifiable are ones that you cannot change.

Non-modifiable factors:

• Family history – having a family history makes you about 15/5 more at risk if one parent has type 2 diabetes, and a 75% higher risk if both parents have type 2 diabetes. However, only 1 in 10 cases of type 2 diabetes are from genetic risk factors alone.
• Age – being over 40 years old, or over 25 if of a South Asian origin
• Having PCOS – Polycystic Ovary Syndrome can increase your risk by 10-20%
• Ethnicity – Being black African, south Asian and African Caribbean ethnicity can increase your risk by 2-4 times
• Gestational diabetes – makes you 7 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes in later life. Children born to mothers with gestational diabetes have a 6-fold increase in risk

Modifiable risk factors:

• Weight and BMI – maintaining a healthy weight is known to reduce risk and it is well known that visceral or central fat can increase risk. However, type 2 diabetes onset can be lower in different ethnicities depending on BMI. The risk increases in the white population for a BMI over 30 but it can be as low as 21 for South Asian groups.
• Waist circumference – it is usually better to keep and eye on waist circumference as an indicator of type 2 diabetes, rather than purely focussing on BMI. Ideally for men a waist measurement of under 94cm/37 inches and for women a measurement of under 80cm/32 inches. This can vary by ethnicity again, but you can read more here https://mysugarwatch.je/why-does-waist-size-matter/
• Diet – having a well balanced diet and avoiding overly processed food and saturated fats, following the Mediterranean diet can help with weight management and blood glucose variability
• Alcohol – reducing alcohol if you drink and sticking to the national recommendations of 14 units a week and at least 2 alcohol free days per week can reduce risk
• Smoking – stopping smoking has many health benefits as well as reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes
• Physical activity – spending long periods of time sitting is known as sedentary lifestyle which is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Try to break up long period of sitting as often as possible by doing some light activity such as walking
• Sleep – having a disturbed sleep can be associated with an increased risk, as well as not getting enough sleep or sleeping for too long. Try to get a good sleep routine and get between 7-9 hours sleep per night

References:

Diabetes UK (No date) Diabetes Risk Factors. Available at:
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/preventing-type-2-diabetes/diabetes-risk-factors (Accessed on 4 April
2023).

NICE (2023) What are the risk factors? Available at: https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/diabetes-type- 2/background-information/risk-factors/ (Accessed on 4 April 2023).