• Question: why are there two types of diabitease and what is the difference and how do they affect you?

    Asked by meg97 to Pete, Rebecca, SallyB, Sally, Sian on 18 Jun 2010 in Categories: . This question was also asked by horriblehistoriesbiggestfan.
    • Photo: Rebecca Randell

      Rebecca Randell answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      There is Type I diabetes and Type II diabetes.

      People are normally born with type I diabetes. The pancreas can not give out enough insulin into the blood. Because of this there is lots and lots of sugar in your blood which can be dangeours. Type ! diabetes is fatal if the person does not inject themselves with insulin to make sure there is not too much sugar in the blood.

      Type II diabetes can be developed later in life (when you are older) if you have an unhealthy lifestyle. Genetics also plays a part in the development of it. It can cause in the long term lots of heart problems

    • Photo: Sally Fenton

      Sally Fenton answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      Type 1 diabetes is when your body does not make insulin…which means you can’t take the sugar in blood up into your muscles to make energy. This means you have a high level of blood sugar which you need to regulate through injecting insulin to keep your blood sugar levels normal. When people do this though they have to be careful because injecting to much insulin could make them pass out. People are normally born with this type of diabetes.

      Type 2 diabetes normally develops as a result of being overweight or obese. This is when your body produces insulin but your muscles have become insensitive (they don’t respond to it) to take the sugar out of your blood and into your muscles. If you eat to much fat, the fat goes into your muscles and is held there in high amounts and this is what stops the the sugar getting into the muscles. It blocks it. People with type 2 diabetes have to control their diabetes with diet and exercise…they have to try and lose weight to get rid of some of the fat which is blocking the sugar being taken out of their blood and into their muscles. If that doesn’t work people take tablets which stops the fat blocking the sugar uptake.

      Basically diabetes is bad because high sugar in your blood causes problems with your blood vessels which can lead to things like amputations and blindness (in extreme cases)..but if people lead and healthy and active lifestyle and keep their diabetes under control this won’t happen 🙂

    • Photo: Sian Lawson

      Sian Lawson answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      Type 1 is an inability to produce insulin, and Type 2 is an inability to process insulin. Type 1 is more likely to be triggered by an infection, and is the most common type seen in children, whereas you are more likely to develop Type 2 as an adult due to lifestyle factors, as well as genetics.

    • Photo: Peter Styring

      Peter Styring answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      THey occur for different reasons. Type 1 (Juvenile Diabetes) is Insulin-dependent diabetes where the body’s immune system destroys cells in the pancreas meaning the body cannot produce insulin. It is therefore necessary to inject insulin. Type 2 (age onset) diabetes usually occurs in people over 40 years old and is a metabolic disorder, usually related to poor diet and lifestyle. Not enough insulin is produced and this needs to be regulated by medication.

    • Photo: Sally Barber

      Sally Barber answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      Diabetes means that the cells in the body stops responding to insulin. To explain why this is important I need to tell you what insulin does in the body, so here goes…

      Energy from food is digested into sugar (glucose) which supplies cells in the body with energy. The glucose can not just enter the cells, the cells need to be “unlocked” so that the glucose can get in. Insulin in the blood attaches to these cells and acts like a “key” allowing the glucose to enter. In type I diabetes the body does not produce insulin so the cells can not get the glucose they need for energy. In type 2 diabetes the cells do not recognise the insulin in the blood (just like a key not fitting a lock) so the insulin can not open the cells to glucose. The body then starts to produce more and more insulin. when there is too much insulin in the blood this starts to damage tissue like the liver and heart in the body. There is also too much glucose in the blood because it is not being taken into the cells. Too much glucose in the body also damages the liver, heart and blood vessels.

      So, type 1 diabetes stops cells in your body getting energy they need to live and this can eventually lead to death if untreated. This also happens in type 2 diabetes, but in type 2 diabetes the high levels of insulin and glucose in the blood also damage vital organs.

      Luckily both can be treated and type 2 diabetes can be prevented by eating healthily and being physically active.

      I hope that makes sense, let me know if you have any more questions on it!

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