Reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes

The amount of sugar in your blood is controlled by a hormone called insulin, which is secreted by the pancreas.

After eating, food is digested and enters the bloodstream. Insulin then helps glucose, a type of sugar, move from the blood into the cells where it's used for energy.

With diabetes, this process doesn't work as it should. Either your body doesn’t produce enough insulin, or it can’t use the insulin it makes effectively, so glucose can’t be properly converted into energy. ^{Footnote [2]}  

There’s a third type called gestational diabetes that only affects pregnant women.

With type 1 diabetes, symptoms usually come on suddenly and rapidly, often over a few days or weeks. This is because the body quickly stops producing insulin due to an autoimmune reaction.

Type 2 diabetes can come on slowly, with symptoms developing over months or even years. Many people don’t notice them at first, which is why it can go undiagnosed for a long time. ^{Footnote [4]}  

Visit your GP if you have the main symptoms of diabetes, which include:

• feeling very thirsty
• weeing more often than usual, particularly at night
• feeling very tired
• losing weight or muscle 
• cuts or wounds that heal slowly
• blurred vision

Obesity is one of the risk factors for getting type 2 diabetes, ^{Footnote [1]} so taking steps to lose weight could really boost your chances of preventing the disease from developing.

As the old saying goes, prevention is better than cure, which is why we’re not just here for you when you’re ill. We want to keep you healthy too by finding ways to help prevent the onset of chronic disease, like type 2 diabetes.

It’s thought that 3.2 million people in the UK are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. ^{Footnote [5]} Several things can increase your risk, including:

• being overweight
• your age 
• high blood pressure 
• if you have a parent, brother, sister or child with diabetes
• your ethnicity

You can’t cut your risk of type 1 diabetes by making lifestyle changes, but research shows that for some, a healthier diet, exercise and weight loss, can slash the risk of type 2 diabetes by about 50%. ^{Footnote [5]}  

That’s where we can help, with our host of wellbeing services you can access when you have health insurance with us. We’re here to support you in making positive lifestyle changes that can help reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes or manage it more confidently if you’re already diagnosed.

If you have our Healthier Solutions private health insurance, you can use MyHealthCounts at no additional cost. It’s a digital tool that works out how healthy you are and supports you in reaching your goals. This might be getting fitter, losing weight or eating healthier. It could also help save you money on your premium when you renew your health insurance with us.

Or, get the guidance you need from a private doctor around the clock with our Aviva Digital GP app, provided by Square Health. Get Active supports your wellbeing goals with discounted gym services and money-saving offers at over 3,500 health and fitness clubs. Bear in mind that Aviva Digital GP and Get Active are non-contractual benefits that we can amend or withdraw at any time.

With our wellbeing services, we want to help you make small changes that can, over time, add up and support you in taking steps to reduce your risk of serious preventable conditions, like type 2 diabetes.

Find out more about the wellbeing services we offer.