During American Diabetes Month in November, you may notice more people are talking about diabetes, a disease that affects 29 million Americans. It’s a great time to learn more about diabetes and the ways that you can decrease or manage your risk of developing the disease.

Diabetes mellitus is a problem with how your body handles blood glucose (sugar). People who have type 2 diabetes aren’t able to use the hormone insulin properly to remove glucose from the bloodstream for use in the fat and muscle cells.  Ultimately, this causes people with type 2 diabetes to have higher than normal levels of glucose in their blood.

You may have heard that someone who is overweight and has a large, apple-shaped body is more likely to develop metabolic syndrome—a group of health conditions such as elevated blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels—which may increase the risk of developing diabetes.  However, there are a number of less well known risk factors for type 2 diabetes including:

• having a close family member with diabetes;
• being African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian or Pacific Islander;
• having had gestational diabetes;
• having high blood pressure; and
• having polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Some research even links non-health-related factors such as job security to an increased diabetes risk. A recent study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal  analyzed data from 19 different studies including almost 141,000 participants which suggested that job insecurity was associated with a modest increased risk of diabetes.  Job insecurity has also been associated with weight gain (a diabetes risk factor) and coronary artery disease (a complication of diabetes).

Recognizing risk factors for diabetes and dealing with them, if possible, is important for both children and adults. Consuming a healthy, nutrient-rich diet and staying physically active can help maintain weight, manage stress and avoid type 2 diabetes and its many related complications. To learn more about ways to prevent diabetes, visit the American Diabetes Association website.

Barb Goodman, PhD, FAPS, is a professor of physiology at the University of South Dakota.