Type 2 diabetes facts for kids

Diabetes mellitus type 2 is a health condition where your body has trouble controlling its blood sugar levels. Normally, a hormone called insulin helps your body's cells take sugar from your blood to use for energy. But with type 2 diabetes, your cells don't respond well to insulin, so too much sugar stays in your blood. If not managed, high blood sugar can cause serious problems like heart attacks, strokes, blindness, and kidney failure.

What Causes Type 2 Diabetes?

Your body needs sugar for energy, and insulin is like a key that unlocks your cells to let the sugar in. In type 2 diabetes, this key doesn't work as well. Your muscle and fat cells start to ignore insulin's signal. This means sugar can't get into the cells easily and builds up in your blood.

Type 1 vs. Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is different from type 1 diabetes. In type 1, the body's immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the cells that make insulin. This means the body produces little to no insulin. Type 1 usually starts in children or young adults. Type 2 diabetes used to be called "adult-onset" because it was mostly seen in older people. However, because more young people are becoming overweight, we are now seeing teenagers and young adults develop type 2 diabetes too. About 9 out of 10 people with diabetes have type 2.

Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes can be caused by a mix of things you inherit from your family (genetics) and your daily habits (lifestyle). If your parents or close relatives have type 2 diabetes, you might be more likely to get it. But your lifestyle plays a big part too. Being overweight or not getting enough physical activity can increase your risk. Eating healthy and staying active are important ways to keep your body working well.

How Do We Treat Type 2 Diabetes?

The good news is that type 2 diabetes can often be managed, especially if caught early. Simple changes can make a big difference.

Lifestyle Changes

• Eating Healthy: Making smart food choices helps control blood sugar.
• Being Active: Regular exercise helps your body use insulin better.
• Losing Weight: If you are overweight, losing even a small amount of weight can greatly improve your body's response to insulin.

Medication

Sometimes, lifestyle changes aren't enough, and doctors might prescribe medicine. A common medicine is called Metformin. It helps your fat and muscle cells "listen" to insulin's signal better, allowing them to take more sugar from your blood.

Staying Healthy with Type 2 Diabetes

Managing type 2 diabetes is important to prevent serious health problems. If blood sugar stays too high for a long time, it can damage different parts of your body. This can lead to issues like heart attacks, strokes, problems with your eyes that can cause blindness, and even kidney failure. By working with doctors and making healthy choices, people with type 2 diabetes can live full and healthy lives.

Images for kids

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  Metformin 500mg tablets.

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  Regional rates of diabetes using data from 195 countries in 2014

See also

In Spanish: Diabetes mellitus tipo 2 para niños