An approximant sixteen million Americans have diabetes, one third of those people are not aware of their condition.

Diabetes can be caused by lifestyle choices. Eating habits, lack of physical activity, high blood sugar, no control of use of medication and being short of regular check-ups are sometimes found as the cause of the disease.

?Diabetes which is caused by lifestyle choices is Type 2 diabetes,? Naomi Bugnosen, M.D., said. ?Signs of diabetes are discoloration of neck, drinking a lot of water, there is often a tingling sensation of fingers and toes and high blood sugar levels. Most do not know if they have diabetes, but it is revealed in a blood test.?

Although diabetes can be caused by lifestyle choices, diabetes is also genetic and possible to be passed on through generations by birth.

Inheritance of diabetes refers to whether the condition is inherited from your parents or ?run? in families. The level of inheritance of a condition depends on how important genetics are to the disease [www.wrongdiagnosis.com].

There are several students on campus who live with diabetes. One student offers an insight as to how living with diabetes affects her life.

?Living with diabetes is difficult,? Suzie Falk, ?06, said. ?It is something you have to learn to live with, and it is uncontrollable.?

Another form of diabetes is Type 1. This type occurs when the pancreas produces inadequate amounts insulin or none at all.

?At first having diabetes is like a chore,? Sean O?Neal, ?08, said. ?It feels like another thing you have to do in your schedule, but after awhile you get use to it and it is not as bad.?

Despite the difficulties of living with diabetes, Falk has been able to find the positive side to this hardship.

?Having diabetes has helped with coping and I have become a lot more independent,? Falk said. ?Luckily, I have good doctors and parents who help me. Because of my insulin pumps I do not have to give injections to myself.?

The possibility of diabetes concerns some students enough that they want to change lifestyle choices, regardless of current behavior.

?I am not over overweight and eat fairly healthy foods,? Joshua Palmer, ?08, said. ?I know that that I am avoiding my path to diabetes but I am still concerned. Because in the past I have always associated diabetes with genetics, but to know I can cause it leaves my with several lifestyle question.?

For more information regarding diabetes to go www.diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/ or contact your doctor.