Chronic Diseases

The chronic disease that I decided to do my assessment on was for the risk of getting diabetes. Diabetes is a disorder of the metabolism that causes an individual to have excessive thirst and they will also produce a large amount of urine. Type II diabetes is caused by the bodies inability to use insulin properly. Type II accounts for more than 95% of US citizens. People with or without diabetes should not take this chronic disease lightly because it can cause heart attacks, strokes, blindness, kidney failure, and even death.

Risk Factors

One risk factor for diabetes would be obesity; when people have bigger weights, this cause for a higher risk of insulin, too much fat can interfere with the body's ability to use insulin the way that it should. A second risk factor to diabetes would be unhealthy eating; when individuals sit around and eat junk all the time this can cause obesity. When the body has too much fat and not enough fiber this can contribute to diabetes. We should eat junk food in moderation, especially if diabetes runs through our family. The third risk factor would be genetics and family history. If you know that diabetes runs through your family, you should try your best to live a healthy lifestyle. The fourth risk factor would be old age or increased age; the older we get, the greater chances are that we may get type II diabetes. As the body ages it slows down and does not push insulin through the body like it used too.

Lifestyle choices

There are many lifestyle choices out there to live by if you do not want to become diabetes next victim. The number one lifestyle would be eating properly. Eating properly can better your chances of not contracting diabetes and watching your blood sugar. I'm not saying stop eating junk food all together, but one should only eat it in moderation. Another lifestyle choice would be exercising. You just cannot eat healthy to maintain, but you also need to exercise just about on a daily basis. Exercising can help you fight against a lot of different chronic diseases not just diabetes. Also if you are a smoker, just should try to quit or limit yourself to like 2 to 3 cigarettes a day.

Conclusion. Diabetes should not be taken lightly. We should go to the doctor at least once a year and get checked before it is too late. Individuals need to understand that they need to eat healthy and exercise, instead of taking the elevator, take the stairs or instead of skim or 1% milk, drink whole milk. When eating pay attention to your portion sizes; larger portions will increase your chances on become obese and we all know that obesity leads to diabetes at some point. Another way to get a better understanding about diabetes and how it can change your life would be talk to someone that has to live with it or your family physician; this is a good way to get that one on one that you may need so