This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Spanish PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related article  • Similar articles in JAMA  Topic Collections  • Obesity  • JAMA Patient Page  • Diabetes Mellitus  • Alert me on articles by topic

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Diabetes is a common disorder in which the body has difficulty controlling levels of sugar in the bloodstream. Normally, the hormone insulin made by the pancreas (an organ in the abdomen) regulates blood sugar levels. The bodies of individuals with type 1 diabetes, which usually starts by the early teen years, do not make enough insulin to control blood sugar, so they must receive insulin injections. The bodies of persons with type 2 diabetes are resistant to the effects of insulin. Type 2 diabetes, also known as "adult-onset" diabetes, usually develops in adulthood but can also occur in overweight children. Family history of diabetes and excess weight, especially weight carried around the middle, are strong risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes. Losing weight greatly reduces your chances for type 2 diabetes and can help bring your blood sugar under control if you already have type 2 diabetes. . . . [Full Text of this Article]

TO LOSE OR CONTROL WEIGHT

Sharon Parmet, MS, Writer; Cassio Lynm, MA, Illustrator; Richard M. Glass, MD, Editor

RELATED ARTICLE

Examining a Bidirectional Association Between Depressive Symptoms and Diabetes
Sherita Hill Golden, Mariana Lazo, Mercedes Carnethon, Alain G. Bertoni, Pamela J. Schreiner, Ana V. Diez Roux, Hochang Benjamin Lee, and Constantine Lyketsos
JAMA. 2008;299(23):2751-2759.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT