What are Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes?


Diabetes is a condition in which the body cannot use food properly. To understand diabetes, you need to know how your body uses food. The food that you eat turns into sugar in the stomach and intestines. It enters the bloodstream where it is carried to your body's cells. Insulin, a natural hormone made in the pancreas, is needed to help the sugar enter your cells. Insulin is like a key, opening up the cell so it can let sugar in. After entering the cell, the sugar is used for energy. If your body produces little or no insulin, or does not properly use the insulin it does make, you have diabetes.

In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas makes little or no insulin. All people with type 1 diabetes must take insulin, either by insulin injections or from an insulin pump. In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas makes some insulin, but not enough, or the body does not properly use the insulin it does make, which is known as “ insulin resistance.” Type 2 diabetes can sometimes be managed with exercise and a meal plan. People with type 2 diabetes may also need to take diabetes pills and/or insulin. The characteristics of type 1 and type 2 diabetes are shown below.


Type 1 Diabetes
usually diagnosed under 35 years of age
not overweight (slender)
quick start of symptoms (acute)
frequent urination
increased thirst
increased appetite
rapid weight loss
tiredness or fatigue
ketones in urine
10% of all people with diabetes


Type 2 Diabetes
usually diagnosed over 40 years of age
usually overweight
slow start of symptoms or no symptoms at all (chronic)
blurred vision
slow to heal cuts
tingling/ numbness in hands/feet
recurring skin, mouth, or bladder infections
any of the symptoms listed under type 1 symptoms
90% of all people with diabetes

Source: http://www.accu-chek.co.uk/gb/