When do we talk about diabetes?

Almost 8% of adult Belgians have diabetes. What exactly is diabetes and how can you prevent it.

You have diabetes if the amount of sugar in your blood is too high. This is because you have insufficient insulin or because you are resistant to insulin. You don't get diabetes because you eat too much sugar. But you do get it because, for example, you are overweight and therefore develop insulin resistance.

Many people have diabetes without even knowing it. This is because diabetes does not cause any symptoms in the beginning. Only in an advanced phase do complaints such as weight loss, drinking a lot, urinating a lot and sugar in the urine occur.

You can prevent diabetes by combating obesity and taking a brisk walk every day. Your doctor can detect the disease with a fasting blood test.

Without treatment, diabetes can lead to a heart attack or stroke, but also to blindness and damage to the kidneys.

Author: Prof. Dr. Dirk Devroey - Latest update: 2024-08-29 - Copyright: Clinifacts 2024