What Is Diabetes? -- An Introduction
Diabetes is a chronic condition in which the body cannot properly convert food into energy. Most food that a person eats is eventually broken down into blood glucose (also called blood sugar), which cells need for energy and growth.
Insulin is a hormone that helps glucose enter cells. In people who are diabetic, the body does not make enough insulin, or it does not respond to insulin properly. This causes glucose to build up in the blood instead of moving into the cells.
The most common form of this condition is
type 2 diabetes (formerly called adult-onset diabetes or non-insulin-dependent diabetes). People can develop type 2 at any age, even in childhood. Other types include:
(Click Diabetes Types for more information.)
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- A need to urinate frequently
- Excessive thirst
- Weight loss
- Blurred vision
- Frequent infections
- Sores that do not heal.
However, some people do not experience any symptoms.
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