Ask an Expert – Diabetes

Question: One or both of my parents has type 2 diabetes, but I have not yet been diagnosed with the condition. What preventative steps can I take to avoid getting the disease?

Dong Benhao, Chair of Internal Medicine, gives his answer…

Type 2 diabetes in adults appears to be caused by a complex interaction of environmental and genetic factors in a susceptible individual. In the majority of patients with type 2 diabetes, genetic susceptibility appears to be due to the expression of multiple genes.

Observational study has shown that the offspring of a parent with type 2 diabetes has an estimated risk of 40% of developing diabetes. This risk increases to 60% if both parents are affected; the risk goes up to 90% for identical twins.

What can you do if your parents have diabetes? Well, you can’t choose your parents, but you can change the environmental factor which is your lifestyle.

There are at least two things in your life that are known risk factors for developing diabetes: increased weight gain and decreased physical activity, each of which increases the risk of diabetes.

Obesity, especially central obesity (commonly known as a fat belly) is the most important risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes. It causes the body to resist insulin, the hormone that keeps blood sugar level in check.

Sedentary lifestyle, or lack of physical activity, is the other risk factor.

In order to keep your risk at the minimum, here is what you can do:

• Diet: Avoid foods high in calories but low in vitamins and minerals such as candy, French fries, cookies, cakes, chips and sodas. Refer to the food pyramid for guidance on a healthy composition of daily food.
• Be physically active. It does not mean you need train to be an athlete. Simply, activities such as climbing stairs instead of taking the elevator or squatting down and standing up repeatedly in your office, several times a day, will be as good as running on the treadmill in the gym, as long as you are persistent in doing so everyday.
• Keep your body mass index (BMI) below 25 and shake off that fat belly if you already have one. BMI = body weight (in kilograms)/height (in meters, squared). For example: if your body weight is 70 kg and your height is 1.7 meter, then your BMI is 70/1.7×1.7=24.2