Everything you need to know about type 2 diabetes

More than 37 million Americans have either type 1 or type 2 diabetes as of 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That’s more than six times the number of people who had diabetes in 1980. Additionally, almost one in four U.S. adults who is living with diabetes does not know that they have it

Diabetes is a serious condition that can potentially lead to heart trouble, kidney damage, blindness, loss of extremities or limbs, and other disabling conditions. But with exercise, a healthy diet, weight management, and the right medication, you can control diabetes and even prevent type 2 diabetes from occurring in the first place.

What's more, there's a growing consensus that weight loss could put type 2 diabetes into remission. This means you could go off medication and keep your blood sugar in the normal range with lifestyle changes alone.

In 2021, a review of studies about weight loss and diabetes remission was published in the British Medical Journal. It found that a weight loss of over 33 pounds, on average, is likely necessary to reach remission of type 2 diabetes. Remission through weight loss is more likely if you’ve been diagnosed within the last few years. And for type 2 diabetes to stay in remission, it’s important to keep the weight off.   

Here’s what you need to know about diabetes, from diagnosis to treatment.