Type 2 diabetes mainly affects adults. The individuals most affected are usually overweight or obese. More and more adolescents and children are suffering from type 2 diabetes. This is due to the increasingly sedentary lifestyle of the family, accompanied by an unbalanced diet rich in carbohydrates and fats.
What is type 2 diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. It is most common in adults over the age of 40. Unfortunately, it is also present in young people, due to the rising rates of obesity. In people at risk, it can even appear in childhood. 2 phenomena are often present in this type of diabetes:- the body's resistance to the effect of insulin;- the reduction in the production of insulin.This is followed by hyperglycaemia, i.e. when blood sugar levels rise above normal levels. In the long term, high blood sugar levels can lead to certain complications, particularly to the heart, nerves, kidneys, eyes and blood vessels. Indeed, the first patented dairy hydrolysate is Pep2Dia which focuses on the prevention of this type of diabetes containing an AP dipeptide.
The cause of type 2 diabetes
Lack of physical activity, obesity and overweight are the obvious causes of type 2 diabetes in genetically predisposed individuals. Being painless and insidious, the discreet evolution of type 2 diabetes can go unnoticed for a long time; it is estimated that it takes an average of 5 to 10 years between the onset of the first hyperglycaemia and the diagnosis. The two main causes of hyperglycaemia are :- the pancreas still produces insulin, but it is not enough compared to the blood sugar level: this is called insulinopenia;- the insulin does not work properly and this is called insulin resistance.Insulin is no longer able to regulate blood sugar levels and this tenacity is getting increasingly exhausted which leads to it not producing enough insulin. These two mechanisms prevent glucose from entering the body's cells and remaining in the bloodstream. Consequently, blood sugar levels are not regulated by insulin anymore.
Treatment of type 2 diabetes
First, it is treated with hygienic and dietary measures, then injectable and/or oral anti-diabetic drugs are soon used. The latters are only recommended when combined with regular physical exercise and balanced nutrition.This type of diabetes is a progressive disease; after a gradual increase in the number of antidiabetic drugs, the patient is offered insulin injections when the insulin deficit is too high.