Introduction

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“Where’s the beef”, “I’m loving it” and “live mas” are some of the fast food restaurant slogans that many people recognize. More people are eating out than cooking for themselves. One study revealed that 59% of men and 32% of women don’t spend any time a day meal prepping (Jawoska, Blackham, Davies, and Stevenson 2013).  Especially with the cost of feeding a family, it’s easier and allows everyone what they want to eat. Fast food has double the calories than a recommended energy density of a healthy diet (Prentice and Jebb 2003).  Besides just eating more people are living sedentary lifestyles from working long hours to being exhausted and wanting to sit and relax. One’s lifestyle can have a major impact on a person health and can have lasting consequences.

One of the changes that has occurred is a rise in obesity that can be linked to other diseases. Obesity is one factor for people who are considered type 2 diabetic. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), type 2 diabetic is on the rise for children because of the increase in childhood obesity (“Type 2 Daibetes” n.d.).

There is no cure for type 2 diabetes. However, you can reduce your risk of getting type 2 diabetes and treat the symptoms. Some ways to reduce the risk of getting type 2 diabetes is eating healthy, working out and reducing your weight (“Type 2 Diabetes”,2017). Eating healthy and being more active can cut your risk of type 2 diabetes in half (“Diabetes Home” 2019).

Type 2 diabetes is a serious disease and can lead to death they do not take monitor their blood sugar level and regulate their insulin level. This causes the blood glucose levels to increase and can cause other complications for the individual. Type 2 diabetes can cause different issue including heart disease and stroke, nerve damage, kidney disease and gum disease.  In 2015, diabetes was ranked the seventh leading cause of death (“Statistics About Diabetes”, 2018).

Type 2 diabetes is a hormone disease. Insulin, a hormone, is produced in the pancreases. Type 2 diabetes is considered a resistance to insulin. The body is unable to take in glucose in the cell because the cell receptor doesn’t respond to insulin. As a result, the amount of glucose doesn’t decrease and so the pancreas creates more insulin.  As a result, the pancreas is unable to make enough insulin to accommodate the amount of glucose in the blood. The high blood sugar can damage to tissue and organs.

Type 2 diabetes differs from type 1 diabetes by how the body responds to the cells. Type 1 diabetes is classified as an autoimmune disease where the body attacks its beta cells. However, in type 2 diabetes the cells are unable to respond to insulin signaling.  In addition, type 1 diabetes is predominately diagnosed in adolescents while type 2 diabetes is usually diagnosed in adults around the age of 30. Type 1 diabetes is usually treated with insulin while type 2 diabetes is either not treated by medication or in some cases treated with tablets. Type 2 diabetes is associated with high blood pressure and cholesterol level compared to type 1 diabetes having normal levels (“Difference Between Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes”).

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Doctors can determine if someone has type 2 diabetes through a glycated hemoglobin A1C test. This blood test determines the percentage of blood sugar levels in the sample. If an individual is below 5.7 percent blood sugar level they are considered normal. If an individual is between 5.7 and 6.4 they are considered prediabetic.  If the person is considered diabetic they have blood sugar percentage above 6.5 for two test in the past 3 months (“Type 2 Diabetes”, 2019).