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Bbc news type 2

Thanks Sandy,

Its a very interesting study and, although it doesn't propose any answers, I guess it increases our knowledge of how the body responds to insulin sensitivity and raised glucose levels in the 3 to 4 years prior to diagnosis.
 
I came across this study too and the thing that interested me was the finding that T2 develops fast.( in 3 years) I'd always read,before, that it was a slow creeping thing and that people might have it 10 years before diagnosis. since T2 is at least as common as breast cancer and in many cases as devastating,Wouldn't it be an idea if we had screening programmes? A simplified OGTT using just a meter, would pick up people at risk as well as undiagnosed diabetics. I read somwhere that elevated fasting levels are not as reliable diagnostics.
Anyone at risk could be given dietary( HA!HA! ) and exercise advice and told to retest within the next 6 months. The cost would be minimal . Tests could be done in pharmacies.
 
I think this is interesting because I have two sons in their 30s and a sister in her 50s where it would beneficial to them if they could be identified early before they are going to come down with diabetes. My sons are health conscious and do eat a low sugar and healthy diet so that may be able to avoid diabetes but it may not be guaranteed that they don't. My sister was over weight and has been following the weight watchers low fat diet but some of the things she eats is high in sugar and although she has lost quite a bit of weight I am not sure it would prevent her developing diabetes. My mother does not have diabetes and my father does but only because he has had lots of cortisone tablets over many years.
I read that there was a study in New Orleans, USA, that suggests that the HbA1c test should be used to dx people for diabetes as it was easier as it does not require the person to be tested to fast overnight, so that more people could be tested.
 
Hi Jenrose,

It's a very valid point you make about WeightWatchers and similar weight-loss diet plans. Because their primary aim is to reduce weight, these regimes concentrate on reducing the food that has the highest calorie value, which is fat. But the foods they recommend are often quite high in sugar because sugar has fewer calories than fat.

But for a diabetic, sugar converts into glucose and raises blood sugar levels, fat doesn't. Similarly carbohydrate converts into glucose, but these diets are less keen on carb reduction because again carbs have fewer calories than fats.
 
Hi Dennis

Thanks for that info and it makes more sense now with regards to the Weightwatcher's diet. I didn't realize that sugar had less calories than that of fat.
 
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