Family History

One of the best indicators of whether or not a person will develop type 2 diabetes at some point in their lives is to examine their family history. It doesn't even have to be a grandparent or a parent with the disease -- simply having a brother or sister, or even a cousin, with type 2 diabetes increases the risk that they will develop the disease themselves.

The Patient's Age

The likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes actually increases as a person gets older, which may come as a surprise to many people. The news often focuses on young children suffering from the disease, but this is actually due to outside factors like family history, lack of physical activity, obesity, or poor diet. All things being equal -- and all lifestyles being healthy -- type 2 diabetes is far greater to strike older individuals than younger ones. This is why it is often referred to as "late onset."

Racial Background and Ethnicity

Statistically, the group which is least at risk of developing type 2 diabetes is caucasians. African Americans, people of Hispanic ancestry, and Pacific Islanders are statistically far more likely to develop the disease as they get older.

Low Birth Weight

It might seem counter to the conventional wisdom that people of greater size and weight are more likely to develop the disease, but type 2 diabetes is actually far more common in babies who weighed in below 5.5 pounds at the time of their birth. 

Poor Diet and Nutrition

A diet rich in sugars, simple carbohydrates, and starches, will increase the risk that a normally healthy individual will come down with type 2 diabetes at some point throughout their lives. This is because all three of those food groups cause spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels which, if endured over a long period of time, will simply cause the body to stop regulating its own insulin levels. And this is perhaps the leading cause of diabetes in America, where obesity is becoming its own separate epidemic.

Lack of Exercise

Exercise promotes a healthy heart and healthy blood sugar levels in people who get the recommended amount of cardiovascular and other physical activity each day. A distinct lack of exercise is observed in many people who come down with diabetes, though it is not as strongly linked as hereditary factors and ethnic predispositions. 

Gastrointestinal Diabetes and High Birth Weights

Those who have suffered from gastrointestinal diabetes are at great risk for developing the wider type 2 diabetes varian, as are mothers who have given birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds at the time of birth.