What is Diabetes?

Risk Factors for Developing Diabetes

• More than 20 percent above ideal body weight
• Lack of exercise
• Close relative with diabetes - grandparent, parent, sibling
• Member of a high risk ethnic group - African American, Native American, Hispanic, Asian
• Having diabetes during pregnancy and/or giving birth to a baby weighing more than nine pounds
• High blood pressure
• Abnormal levels of high density lipoproteins (HDL) or triglycerides

The dramatic increase in the number of diabetes diagnoses in the U.S. over the past decade is widely thought to be a result of the American lifestyle. The average American diet contains an overabundance of sweets, fat and processed foods. This type of diet combined with a lifestyle that includes little or no exercise can have a dramatic impact on a person's health.