Is diabetes hereditary?

[Serenity]

My dad wasn't diagnosed until his sixties, but I'm wondering what the chances are of me being diabetic too in later life and if there's anything I can do to find out if I will.

[mollyL]

The only type of diabetes that is truly hereditary is type one, the type that comes on in childhood. Adult-onset diabetes, which it sounds that your father has, can be mitigated by starting now to to eat healthily, get steady exercise, and not drinking to excess.
You can take steps now to try to prevent diabetes, so years from now it will not be a problem for you.

[Kitten]

Originally Posted by mollyL

The only type of diabetes that is truly hereditary is type one, the type that comes on in childhood. Adult-onset diabetes, which it sounds that your father has, can be mitigated by starting now to to eat healthily, get steady exercise, and not drinking to excess.
You can take steps now to try to prevent diabetes, so years from now it will not be a problem for you.

Agreed. I don't know about all the specifics of it being hereditary because I've been told that some of the traits that can make diabetes more likely 'are' hereditary, even if the disease itself isn't. Adult diabetes like that can definitely be controlled, though.

[The right way]

I might be wrong but I believe type 2 might be hereditary also. At least the traits in the body to be more suseptable to it through family genes and such. Everyone in my family has had it as far back as I can see and it is type 2, no type 1's. It is most likely avoidable even tho but the problem lies more in our old beliefs in what is good for you. We are now learning that sugar is not the real culprit as much as processed stuff like white flour and other white foods that the powers that be messed with to make it more pleasing to the eye and better for transport, (this food being a type of sugars that the body has to process before being digested as a food).
It is known that doctors check you if they know it is in your family. It is also known that if we were to have had better whole foods years ago that were not processed and bleached there would be less of us in the statistics as is now but we listened to the wrong people maybe. Even the canadian food guide was wrong as far as I am concerned and has been revamped to personalize with each person by weight, height and activity level and does not include the white products in the same spot as they used to be that was said everyone should eat daily. It is also a product of our sloppy lives we live now like shift work, extra shifts, long commutes and eating in a hurry to get somewhere, and stress, as well as many more things we could change.
Take care, go around the outer parimiter of the store for most of your groceries and look at tips to avoid sugar highs that diabetics use even tho you are not diabetic yet taking care not to over do it either. If you have a family member who is diabetic you should ask for a test on their blood meter (be careful if you do not to contaminate yourself or them) if you can, (This is soley my opinion tho and is not medical advise) Wish I had thought of that years ago, or better yet ask your doctor to keep checking you each year.
There are foods that help diabetics control their blood sugar and people with no signs yet should look at that too for a preventative, wish I knew that years ago too. Anyway my real message here is if you have family members who are then be vigilant in checking and if no family members are, then look at your daily diet to see if you should still be concerned.
It is a sneaky disease and comes on quietly and once there you have to keep a tight control. Even warned diabetics sometimes never get back to normal if they can't keep control.
"Warned diabetics" is a term used by some, also used is borderline diabetics which some don't like to call it anymore or prediabetic. These names are used for those showing a count of around 5 to 7, I believe. after you ride over 7 or 8 you are concidered diabetic I believe and oral medications are soon concidered.
The tricks for keeping blood sugar down BTW are whole foods that are usable to the body. Antioxidents, some vitamines, fruits and lots of veggies, soluble and non soluble fibres. There are many more being discovered like vinagar use, mustard, and the list goes on. If not a warned diabetic you should look at this type of list only as "better choices and find snacks that are safer and just try to stay away from white breads and other whitened products and foods that have trans fats. If we all made a slight food choice makeover we would find it easier to avoid diabetes. The kids are more at risk now and that is what is concerning everyone in the medical field, most likely due to the food choices at school more then anything else at this point.
Remember this is not medical advice of any kind, it is my opinion only from what I know now and wish I knew then when it might have helped me. I worked long shifts, night shifts and I let the world of prepared food get me where it counts all while knowing my family has a long string of the disease.

[jullee]

My father was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in his 60's. He is the first diabetic in his family line, he didn't inherited from anybody. All his life consisted of lots of cocacola, candy, bakery treats (highy procesed grains and sugar mix), alcohol, and all his food was cooked (there was no nzymes left so, on top of it all, his pancreas had to do extrawork to produce more nzymes). He is 74 now and not under medication, he controls it with diet.

I don't believe I will inherit diabetes type 2, that will depend on my diet, I might inherited a "weak" pancreas. It has been a long time since I change my diet and left the way of eating that I was brought up with. I have children that are growing and is my responsability to feed them with the building blocks necesary to be healthy adults (or at least try) by doing my own reasearch instead of putting our health in the hands of the medical system and health guide or even trust that everything sold at healthfood stores is healthy, I'm all for organic but they even sell stuff with sorbitol,maltitol,etc. Soy products, and microwaveble organic popcorn!!!

[justontime]

Type 2 diabetes is not hereditary but family lifestyle issues and diet may play a part in this. You can reduce your chances of type two diabetes by maintaining a healthy weight, eating a healthy balanced diet and getting regular exercise.

[The right way]

Yes definately it is in many ways, it goes way back in my family and no female is getting away without it. Type 2 has lots to do with how a person ate and lived during a long period of time but if your make up is to be suseptable to it in the family lines, you are that much more likely to get it.

Also it has been said that as far as women, those with a heavier waist or a waist that is as big or bigger then the hips are more apt to get it over those with bigger hips and the smaller waist and those traits go along in a family line as well. My family has always had the smaller hips and butt and less of a shapely waist.

I know several women who are much bigger then I am and weigh up to a hundred pounds more then I do and they have a smaller waist then their other perportions and larger hips and they are not diabetic. I started looking at this when I heard about it in medical studies and sure enough I am only about 30 pounds more then I should be, I hold it well so it does not look so bad but I am diabetic and a coworker I used to work with who is nearly 100 pounds larger then she should be has been tested and came out with normal blood sugar numbers,,, go figure.

This lady has huge hips and legs and her waist is quite small so her only problem is she finds it hard to find pants to wear that have the right shape for her build and she says this has been the shape her mother, grandmother and great grandmother had and none in her family lines were diabetic.

It is only one of the signs that can help medical and other people be aware. Also it is said that native and blacks are more at risk then others so for sure there is hereditary possibilities.

My family has indian backgrounds so this could be part of why I have it. I also worked midnight shift for over 15 years and lived a rushed life in many ways so that could be a big factor in my disease. Seems the women in my family are hit with it and the men are not so I believe there is much more to learn before we say it is not hereditary in any way. BTW we have no type 1s in my family, we are all type 2s

[The right way]

I would like to say that I agree that a better lifestyle will help avoid it too and fast foods and shift work are not the answer.

Our way of keeping the work force going 3 shifts is in my opinion a huge factor especially for those who either work straight mids or who do swing shifts and leave their bodies wondering when day and night is. We have a built in clock and yet many of us work against it making the melentonins and other hormonal set up in the body trying to decide if we are hungry or tired and as long as these messages are mixed up we are all going to find ourselves more and more able to get sick now even if a disease is not in the family in the past.

Stress is also a huge factor that we need to look at and is being found to help trigger diseases.

[deltic]

Originally Posted by Liza

I do believe from experience that some types are hereditary, I don't know which for sure, but the fact that someone in your family has it increases your chance of getting it.

That is type one diabetes, type two is not hereditary but can have a family link which is usually due to lifestyle issues.

[HereToday]

My husband has type 2 which was diagnosed when he was in his early 50s, his entire birth family Father, Mother and Brother developed it as well but he feels that it came from them all sharing poor eating habits and being overweight, he doubts that it was hereditary except through inherited habits.

[jullee]

I forgot to mention in my reply that my Father has never been over weight or had a "beer belly" which surprises me that I know the kind of diet he lived on, he wasn't "skinny either, I guess he has a high metabolisim, but that couldn't stop the damage this food did to his organs. So, diabetes type 2 is not exclusive of overweight people.

[Laughingmouse]

I have a hard time feeling confident that type 2 diabetes won't be found to have a genetic basis in the future. Science is just getting to the point where they can pin down specific genes.

The idea that type 1 is inherited and that type 2 is based more on observation than actual genetic analysis. At least, that's my understanding.

[ornaldohlt1]

Diabetes is caused by a number of factors not only heredity. Yes, diabetes of both types can run in families and there is a genetic component to the diseases which may, or may not be inherited. Diabetes is almost similar to having cancer. If diabetes is not treated well, it can affect different organs of the body the same as cancer..........

[anthonynelson]

Diabetes can be a hereditory problem or it cannot be....yes there are many cases where it has been found due to our forefathers

[alexa123]

Yes In some cases diabetes is hereditary but not always....

[twohealthyfeet]

Diabetes is a hereditary disease. But it is only for type diabetes 1 .So if your father is having a dibetic problem then you must have a check up from your doctor for the confirmation of the disease