By: Dr. Anita Ramsetty
Myth Number 2: Diabetes only happens to old or really fat people, or those with a family history—FALSE
MIAMI – This week’s myth is a favorite of mine because I hear it all the time, usually from a patient who just cannot believe they really have Diabetes.
I will say that it is true that most people with high sugars are very overweight or obese. They also are more likely to have a family member with diabetes. It is also true that your chances of developing diabetes go up as you get older. HOWEVER it is very wrong to believe that ONLY those groups of people ever have problems with blood sugars.
Type 1 Diabetes, the kind that absolutely requires insulin, is completely out of this situation because it can happen to anyone: overweight or skinny, man or woman, any racial background, and in adults as well as children.
Type 2 Diabetes, the more common type, is the one we will discuss further. First, there are many people who are just a little overweight (or not at all) who have high blood sugars. This can happen for various reasons. One of those reasons is your ethnic make-up. For instance people who have Asian background including East Indian, Chinese and Japanese, have a higher chance of developing diabetes when they are not really considered overweight. Other reasons include your medications, being unable to respond well to your own insulin, other diseases and pregnancy. There are many other causes as well.
In regard to age, diabetes spares no age group. You certainly have a higher chance of developing Type 2 Diabetes as you get older because our bodies are not as good at handling blood sugar–just a part of normal aging, I am afraid. Most people are still able to keep their blood sugars normal even as they age, but some people have too much of a change and cannot maintain normal blood sugars. But I have seen people of all ages, including children, diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Now in children it is almost always because they are very heavy, have many family members with diabetes, or have another serious disease that may have caused the high blood sugars. But otherwise healthy people in their twenties and thirties can develop diabetes, so age is not a protection for you!
Lastly, it is widely thought that if you do not have anyone in your family with diabetes, then you will not develop it—NOT TRUE!!! I am not saying that you have the same chance as someone with lots of family having diabetes, of course not. But it does not put you in the safe zone at all.
So if per chance you are not very overweight, have no family with diabetes and/or are young and your doctor recently told you that your blood sugar is high: pay attention. Do not put yourself in danger by believing you can’t have it.
Until next time,
Anita Ramsetty MD
Medical Director, Endocrine Care Group
www.endocrinehelp.com
[email protected]
