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metabolism that go along with aging. A final risk factor is having given birth
to a baby who weighed more than nine pounds or having developed gesta-
tional diabetes during a pregnancy. If either applies, a person’s chance of get-
ting type 2 diabetes later in life increases by about 50 percent.
Symptoms
So now you know many of the factors that put one at
risk for diabetes, but how can you tell if you’re actu-
ally developing the disease? The symptoms for this
kind of diabetes usually develop slowly and may go
undiagnosed for months or even years. Regular med-
ical checkups can help identify the condition. Some of
the most common symptoms that a person can watch
for, however, are:
feeling really thirsty frequently
urinating often
being very hungry more often than usual
feeling tired all the time
noticing blurred vision
developing sores that heal slowly
healing slowly (wounds)
sensing “pins and needles” or tingling in feet
having itchy skin, particularly in extremities
frequent vaginal or bladder infections
finding sugar in urine (identified by a urine test)
You may have one or more of these symptoms before you even find out
you have diabetes. Or you may have no signs at all. “Pre-diabetes” is a classi-
fication doctors assign to those people who have blood-glucose levels higher
than normal but not high enough for a diabetes diagnosis (140–199 mg two
38 / Health Issues Caused by Obesity