Type 2 Diabetes Modifiable and Non-Modifiable Risk Factors

Key Takeaways

• Type 2 diabetes is caused by insulin resistance and decreased insulin production, leading to chronically high blood sugar levels.  
• While some risk factors, like age, race, and family history, cannot be changed, lifestyle choices, including diet, physical activity, sleep, stress, and smoking, can all play a role in preventing and managing type 2 diabetes. 
• Making small but significant changes to your diet, activity levels, sleep, and stress can help lower your risk of type 2 diabetes and manage symptoms. 

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Type 2 diabetes is a complex medication condition that occurs when the body can no longer effectively regulate glucose (aka sugar), its main source of energy. While some factors that increase your risk of diabetes, like family history, age, and ethnicity, are out of your control, your daily habits also play a large role in developing type 2 diabetes and managing it if diagnosed. 

In this article, we’re covering everything you need to know about what type 2 diabetes is, the role of insulin and glucose, lifestyle choices that increase your risk of this disease, and what you can do to help prevent or manage type 2 diabetes. 

Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms

Type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes have similar symptoms, even though the root causes are very different. Because of the build-up of sugar in the bloodstream and the effect this has on cells and organ systems, symptoms of uncontrolled type 2 diabetes may include: 

• Increased thirst 
• Increased urination 
• An increase in hunger and appetite
• Unintended weight loss
• Blurry vision
• Feeling extra tired or an increase in weakness
• Sores that won’t heal, especially on hands and feet
• Numbness or a “pins and needles” feeling in hands and feet
• Frequent thrush or yeast infections

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These are the most common symptoms, but women may experience additional symptoms of diabetes, like difficulty becoming pregnant, irregular cycles, and decreased sex drive or pain during sex. 

What Causes Type 2 Diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes develops when your body cannot regulate blood sugar effectively. Contrary to popular belief, sugar does not cause diabetes, but a diet that’s high in sugar over time may contribute to the cause. 

Chronically elevated blood sugars reduce your cells’ sensitivity to insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas that acts like a key, opening the cells up to glucose and allowing it to move from the bloodstream into the cell for energy. 

As your cells require more and more insulin to accept glucose from the blood, the pancreas may be unable to keep up. When this happens, blood sugar levels remain consistently high, damaging your circulatory system, nervous system, and immune health, which can then affect the function of several organ systems. 

Type 2 diabetes is caused by two main problems: 

• Insulin resistance: Cells stop responding to normal amounts of insulin, causing glucose to remain in the bloodstream for longer amounts of time and increased insulin production from the pancreas to compensate. 

• Decreased insulin production: As the pancreas works harder to make enough insulin to accommodate the cell’s insulin resistance, it may become worn out and unable to produce the amount of insulin needed to keep blood sugars in a healthy range. 

Type 2 Diabetes and Insulin: What You Need to Know

When you eat, the carbohydrates in your food are broken down into glucose, the simplest form of sugar. This glucose is then sent from your digestive system to your bloodstream. As glucose enters your bloodstream, your pancreas releases insulin to help move it from your blood to the surrounding cells to be used for energy. This finely regulated mechanism helps keep your blood sugars within the normal range and your cells and body fueled with energy. 

Ideally, the system goes like this:

• You eat carbohydrates.
• Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose and enter the bloodstream. 
• The pancreas releases insulin to help sugar enter the cells. 
• Cells receive glucose, and blood sugar levels decrease. 
• The pancreas slows down insulin production until it’s needed again. 

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In type 2 diabetes, this system becomes impaired. Cells do not respond as readily to a normal amount of insulin, requiring more insulin to accept glucose from the blood. This leads to an overworked pancreas and elevated blood sugar. 

In unmanaged type 2 diabetes, the process could look more like this: 

• You eat carbohydrates. 
• Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose and enter the bloodstream. 
• The pancreas releases insulin to help sugar enter the cells. 
• The cells do not respond to insulin. 
• Sugar builds up in the blood, and the pancreas produces more insulin. 
• The cells begin to accept some sugar, thanks to the high amount of insulin in the bloodstream.
• Blood sugars remain high for several hours, and insulin continues to be produced. 

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When the cells in type 2 diabetes are insulin-resistant or the pancreas can’t make enough insulin, glucose stays in the bloodstream instead of entering the cells, leading to chronically high blood sugar and health complications. 

How to Manage Type 2 Diabetes Glucose Levels

Managing blood sugar with type 2 diabetes is essential for reducing risks and living an energized, healthy life. Since glucose is the body’s preferred source of energy, keeping blood glucose levels in a healthy range can help prevent complications like nerve damage, heart disease, kidney issues, and vision loss. We don’t need to be afraid of glucose; we just have to learn how to manage it. 

Here are some facts about glucose that are essential to understand when it comes to managing type 2 diabetes: 

• Glucose comes from food and the liver: When you eat carbohydrates, they’re broken down into glucose, which can then be used by cells. When you’re fasting, your liver converts glycogen (the stored form of glucose) into glucose and sends that into your bloodstream so that you have energy even when you’re not eating. 
• Insulin helps glucose enter the cells: Insulin acts like a key, fitting into a locked door in the cell walls so that glucose can move from the bloodstream into the cells.
• The liver stores extra glucose: When you eat more carbohydrates than you need for energy “right now,” the extra glucose is sent to the liver to be stored as glycogen. When blood sugar levels get too low, glycogen can be converted back into glucose so your blood sugar can stay in a normal range. 

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Thankfully, once you’ve identified that you have insulin resistance, prediabetes, or type 2 diabetes, you can take meaningful steps to manage your blood glucose levels. 

This may include: 

• Monitoring your blood sugars: Monitoring your blood sugar levels through the use of a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) can alert you to elevated levels and help you understand how your body reacts to various foods, meal timing, and physical activity. 
• Eating a balanced diet: Eating a diet with complex carbohydrates, lean protein, and healthy fats can help your body slowly digest carbohydrates into glucose for a more even rise in blood sugar, preventing large blood sugar spikes. 
• Increase physical activity: Exercise can help your cells accept more glucose, increasing glucose uptake up to 24 hours after activity.¹ Movement is a great way to help lower your blood sugar after a meal. 
• Taking medications as directed: If your healthcare provider prescribes oral medications to help increase your cells' sensitivity to insulin or injectable insulin to help lower your blood sugar, it’s important to take your medication as prescribed and keep your healthcare provider up to date on how the medication is impacting your blood glucose levels. 

Non-Modifiable Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is often seen as a “lifestyle disease,” but that isn’t necessarily true. Many factors may increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes that you have absolutely no control over. These include: 

• Family medical history: If one or both of your parents have type 2 diabetes, you have a two to four times higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to someone with no family history of the disease.²
• Ethnic background: There is a disparity of diabetes risk factors between ethnic groups in the United States, with a higher prevalence for Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black adults.³
• Age: While type 2 diabetes used to most commonly affect older adults, it’s becoming more common in younger adults as well. Being over 45 increases your risk. 
• Gestational diabetes: If you had gestational diabetes during pregnancy, you may have up to a 10-fold increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.⁴ However, studies have found that weight, number of pregnancies with gestational diabetes, and other medical conditions also play a large role in the increased risk. 
• Fat distribution: While you have some control over your total body fat as it relates to lifestyle and diet factors, genetics determines where your body stores fat.⁵ Those who store fat around their midsection are at a higher risk of developing diabetes than those who store fat around their hips. 

Modifiable Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes

While some risk factors are out of your control, you have the power to lower other risks directly through lifestyle changes. These modifiable risk factors play a large role in how your body regulates glucose, and making small but significant adjustments to your daily life can lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. 

Modifiable risk factors include: 

• Diet: Diets high in simple sugars, fatty foods, and too many overall calories can lead to inflammation in the body, chronically high blood sugars, and cause your body to store excess weight and body fat around your liver. 
• Physical activity: A sedentary lifestyle is a large predictor of type 2 diabetes. A large meta-analysis found that long durations of sedentary living can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes by as much as 112%.⁶
• Smoking: The combination of nicotine and other chemicals in cigarettes increases your blood sugar and leads to inflammation in the body, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes. 
• Stress and sleep: Poor sleep habits and chronic stress disrupt hormones and can lead to inflammation, decreased insulin sensitivity, and high blood sugar.^7,8

How to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

If you’ve been diagnosed with insulin resistance or prediabetes, or if type 2 diabetes runs in your family, you can take steps to lower your risk, slow down the progression, or even prevent type 2 diabetes. 

A healthy lifestyle includes: 

• A healthy diet: Prioritizing whole foods, complex carbohydrates, fiber-rich fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and heart-healthy fats can minimize blood sugar spikes and fuel your body with long-lasting energy. 
• Mindful eating habits: Learning to practice mindful eating can help you avoid overeating and limit mindless snacking, allowing you to eat fewer calories without feeling deprived. Mindful eating is also a great way to savor and enjoy treats in smaller amounts, limiting their effects on your blood sugar while still eating the foods you love. 
• Physical activity: Regular movement helps your muscles use glucose more effectively, helping to reduce insulin resistance. It can also help you stay within a healthy weight range. Recommendations include getting at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week.⁹
• Smoking cessation: Smoking is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes, increasing your risk by 30 to 40 percent.¹⁰
• Good sleep habits and stress management: By regularly getting a good night’s sleep and learning how to manage stress levels, you won’t have the inflammatory effects of stress hormones working against your body’s efforts to regulate blood sugar. A consistent sleep routine, limiting electronics before bed, keeping the room cool, and engaging in calming activities before bed, along with stress-managing techniques like yoga, meditation, deep breathing, getting out in nature, and talking to someone, can help. 

The Bottom Line

While modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors influence your chances of developing type 2 diabetes, you have the power to take control of your health. By focusing on healthy eating habits, physical activity, and stress management, you can improve your insulin sensitivity, help stabilize your blood sugars, and lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes or experiencing complications from the disease. 

Learn More About How to Improve Blood Sugar Health With Signos’ Expert Advice

Managing blood sugar levels is key to maintaining overall health, lowering your risk of type 2 diabetes, and preventing complications. Signos experts’ advice and real-time insights can help you take control of your health with better blood sugars, weight management, and healthy lifestyle choices. Learn how Signos can help you manage your blood glucose, and take the free quiz to see if it’s the right fit for your goals.