Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which the body produces insulin but is unable to use it appropriately. People diagnosed with type 2 diabetes either produce insulin in insufficient quantities or have a diminished capacity to respond to insulin’s effects at a cellular level (insulin resistance.) As a result, glucose isn’t transported into their cells but instead builds up to dangerously high levels in their bloodstreams. 90 to 95 percent of the 21 million Americans with diabetes have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. 

Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes has five classic symptoms:

• Polyuria: High levels of sugar in the bloodstream pull fluid from tissues and cells through osmosis. This leads to an increased need to urinate (polyuria.) 

• Polydipsia: Cells become dehydrated through osmotic fluid loss. This leads to an increased thirst (polydipsia.)

• Polyphagia: Cells don’t have access to the glucose they need: They’re literally starving. Muscles and organs have no energy reserves. You feel ravenously hungry (polyphagia), but eating doesn’t restore your energy levels.

• Weight Loss: Your body doesn’t have access to the glucose it needs for energy. Instead you are forced to break down muscle and fat for energy, a far less efficient process. You waste away even though you may be eating more than ever.

• Fatigue: Since your cells have no energy, you feel tired all the time.

Other symptoms that can be associated with type 2 diabetes include 

• Blurred vision: Glucose levels are increased in the capillaries of the eyes as they are elsewhere in the body. This osmotic gradient pulls fluid from the eye’s vitreous humor, resulting in blurry vision.

• Increased infections and sores that take a long time to heal


• Acanthosis nigricans: Some people with type 2 diabetes develop hyperplasia and hyperpigmentation of the skin, secondary to high insulin levels in the affected skin cells. This condition is called Acanthosis nigricans.

Physical Signs Associated With Insulin Resistance

Certain physical signs are not type 2 diabetes symptoms per se but factors associated with insulin resistance. Insulin resistance precedes the development of type 2 diabetes, sometimes by many years. When cells first begin developing a resistance to insulin, the body’s response is to cue the pancreas to manufacture more insulin. At the point at which the pancreas can no longer manufacture enough insulin, blood glucose levels begin to rise and insulin resistance becomes type 2 diabetes.

Obesity: Obesity is a huge risk factor for insulin resistance, particularly if your body stores excess fat in your abdomen rather than elsewhere such as your hips or thighs. Weight loss will improve your body’s ability to recognize and respond to insulin appropriately.

High blood pressure: Researchers aren’t clear exactly what’s behind the link between hypertension and insulin resistance, just that it exists.

Atherosclerosis: Insulin resistance results in a build up of plaque within the arteries, narrowing arteries considerably. Insulin resistance is also linked to an increased risk of developing blood clots.

Inactivity: Physical activity not only helps you control weight but also increases cells’ inherent sensitivity to insulin.