• Question: "How do you get diabetes."

    Asked by to Oliver on 24 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Oliver George

      Oliver George answered on 24 Jun 2014:


      There are two types of diabetes. You can either be born with it (type 1 diabetes) or you can get it later in life (type 2 diabetes).

      Type one diabetes (the one you’re born with) is caused by the body doing something similar to what happens when someone with an allergy comes into contact with the thing they’re allergic to. The immune system (which normally protects you from infection) attacks the body, in this case cells which produce insulin in the pancreas. Insulin is important for control of sugar levels in the blood. Nobody is sure the reason why the immune system does this.

      Type two diabetes (also known as adult-onset diabetes) is caused by the body no longer responding to the insulin produced in the pancreas. This causes a similar effect to type one diabetes. The main cause is obesity although genes are though to be involved too. This type of diabetes is much more common and more people are being diagnosed with it. The increase is thought to be due to higher levels of obesity (people being overweight).

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