Essay Sample on Family History Disease

Introduction

Several medical studies agree that eating a healthy diet, doing moderate physical exercises, and avoiding sedentary behaviors like smoking and excessive alcohol consumption reduces the risk of diseases. However, only a small fraction of the public understand that their family history is one of the primary risk factors to having cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer. Although it is impossible to change one's genetic makeup, having knowledge about the family history is critical in helping an individual to make life decisions that minimize their risk of developing some diseases (CDC). On this account, I have gained vast knowledge about my family history in the recent years and in turn helped me gain a better understanding of diabetes and the vulnerability of my family to the disease.

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According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, diabetes is an illness that develops when a person's level of blood sugar rises above the accepted limit. Blood sugar is the primary supplier of energy to the body and is manufactured from the food ingested. To maintain its optimum levels, pancreas makes insulin which helps break down blood sugar into available forms for use by the cells. When insulin is not produced or produced in small amounts, the blood glucose accumulates in the system to exceed allowable levels hence diabetes.

There are many types of diabetes but the primary ones include type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is caused by inability of the body to produce enough insulin. The patients must take insulin daily for their survival. Unlike type 1 where no insulin is produced, in type 2 diabetes, insulin is produced but the cells are unable to utilize it effectively as required. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases categorizes type 2 as the most common type of diabetes due to its close association with obesity.

The primary risk factors of developing diabetes include overweight, family history of diabetes, high blood pressure, and living a sedentary lifestyle. Studies have also shown that some races like African-Americans, Latin American, and Native American have higher risk of developing diabetes than other races. In addition, gestational diabetes that is common in pregnant women (the cells are less sensitive to insulin during pregnancy) and being more than 45 years are risk factors of diabetes (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases). Despite the unavoidable risk factors like genetic makeup, an individual can reduce the risk of developing diabetes by eating a healthy diet with low sugar content, reducing alcohol intake, and exercising at least thirty minutes daily.

Work Cited

CDC. "Knowing is Not Enough." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 22 Feb. 2019, www.cdc.gov/features/familyhealthhistory/index.html.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. "What is Diabetes?" National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 30 Nov. 2016, www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/what-is-diabetes.