9781422288450

Tara’s mother has five sisters. She and two of these sisters are overweight. Tara’s grandmother is also overweight. One day, Tara overhears her mother talking with her doctor. “Well, two of my sisters developed diabetes in their fifties. . . . Yes, Mom has it, too . . . uh huh . . . I see. . . . Will I need insulin?” The lightbulb goes off in Tara’s mind: her mom has diabetes. I don’t get it, she puzzles. I thought you were born with diabetes, but Mom never had it before . After a moment Tara begins to worry. Will Mom be okay? Can I get it, too? There are three main kinds of diabetes: type 1 diabetes (also called juvenile diabetes), type 2 diabetes (previously called adult-onset), and gestational diabetes. All forms of diabetes are related to the way blood-sugar levels (the amount of sugar that is in your bloodstream at any given time) are regu- lated by insulin (the hormone responsible for getting sugar out of the bloodstream and into your cells). The different forms of diabetes, however, have different causes. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder in which a person’s immune system (the system responsible for killing viruses, bacteria, and diseased cells) attacks and destroys the beta cells in the pan-

26 / Health Issues Caused by Obesity