Health Risks Type 2 Diabetes
Based on your genetics, your genetic predisposition for Type 2 Diabetes is
What does this mean?
Your genotypes indicate that you have normal risk for Type 2 Diabetes.
How Is Your Genetic Risk Calculated?
6.06
This result is based on the SNPs(single nucleotide polymorphism)that are associated with Type 2 Diabetes.
Risk Factors Can Influence The Risk of Developing Type 2 diabetes
Genetics are NOT the only risk factor for Type 2 Diabetes.
Type 2 Diabetes is believed to be caused by a combination of environmental, genetic and lifestyle factors. Now that you have learnt about your genetic risk, you can determine how aggressively you need to make lifestyle changes to reduce your risk.
The earlier in your life that you commit to living a healthy lifestyle, the more you can reduce your risk for or delay the development of Type 2 Diabetes.
History of Gestational Diabetes
Have a history of gestational diabetes or gave birth to a baby weighing 4kg or more, is one of the risk factors for type 2 diabetes.
Cholesterol Levels
Risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases in individuals who have a low level of HDL (good) cholesterol, or a high level of triglycerides.
Family History
Individuals with more than one relative with diabetes or with younger maternal diagnosis had even higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Age
The risk of type 2 diabetes increases as you get older, especially after age 45.
Weight
You are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if you are are overweight or obese.
Suggested Lifestyle Changes
Dietary Recommendations:
- Aim to have an enriching diet with higher cereal fiber and low in calories, for example whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
- Consume carbohydrates with a low or medium Glycemic Index (GI). Carbohydrate can raise blood sugar. Glycemic index (GI), indicates how quickly the carbohydrate present in the food can raise blood sugar levels. Food with high GI causes your blood sugar levels to spike up much faster, as compared to food with medium or low GI. The body will breakdown low GI food slowly, resulting in a slower increase in the glucose level in the blood. Low GI food falls in between the ranks of 0 to 55. Moderate GI food range from 56 to 69 and anything higher than 69 is considered food with high GI. Typically low and moderate GI food are dried beans, kidney beans, barley , quinoa, fruits, greens, non-starchy vegetables, brown rice, pita bread.
- Cut down processed foods which are high in sodium (canned food, fast food, fried food), added sugar ( baked good, sweetened beverages) and saturated fats (red meat, butter, cheese). Stick with whole, fresh and minimally processed foods.
- Frequent, small meals can help to slow down the absorption of food, decrease blood sugar levels after meals and reduced insulin requirement during the course of the day.
- Reduce consumption of calorie-rich foods as they increase the risk of developing insulin resistance (IR) and subsequently diabetes.
Lifestyle Recommendations:
- Do not smoke as smoking is associated with insulin resistance, inflammation and dyslipidemia (high level of cholesterol and fats in the bloodstream). Studies shown that smoking increases the risk of the developing of diabetes.
Exercise Recommendations:
- Aim to have at least 150 min/week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity (50-70% of maximum heart rate), spread over at least 3 days/week, with no more than 2 consecutive days without exercise. Moderate-intensity aerobic are activities that will increase your heart rate. Example of these activities are: 2.5 miles of brisk walking, aerobic dancing , jogging.
- In the absence of contraindications, adults with type 2 diabetes should be encouraged to perform resistance training at least twice per week. Resistance training improves muscle strength and includes training using weights such as weight machines, and free weights.