RISK FACTORS

• Obesity
  Excess fat, especially if deposited around the waist, increases the risk of diabetes.
  
  
• Lack of exercise and inactivity
  Activity controls your weight, allows your muscles to use more glucose, and makes your cells more sensitive to insulin.
  
  
• Family history
  Your risk of type 2 diabetes increases if members of your family also have the disease.
  
  
• Age
  Diabetes generally increases with age, but is now seen more frequently in children and adolescents.
  
  
• Gestational diabetes
  Women who develop gestational diabetes — a type of diabetes that occurs during pregnancy — have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, especially if they give birth to a baby weighing more than nine pounds.
  
  
• Race
  Diabetes is more common in blacks, Hispanics, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. More than 13 percent of all African Americans have diabetes.