Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes, formerly called adult-onset or noninsulindependent diabetes, is the most common form of diabetes. People can develop type 2 diabetes at any age, even during childhood. This form of diabetes usually begins with insulin resistance, a condition in which fat, muscle, and liver cells do not use insulin properly. At first, the pancreas keeps up with the added demand by producing more insulin. In time, however, it loses the ability to secrete enough insulin in response to meals. People who are overweight and inactive are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Treatment includes taking diabetes medicines, making wise food choices, exercising regularly, controlling blood pressure and cholesterol, and taking aspirin daily—for some.

What is Type 2 Diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes is a common metabolic condition that develops when the body fails to produce enough insulin or when insulin fails to work properly, which is referred to as insulin resistance. Insulin is the hormone that stimulates cells to uptake glucose from the blood to use for energy.

Insulin Resistance Symptoms

Insulin Resistance Treatment

Insulin Medication

Insulin Resistance Diagnosis

Causes of Insulin Resistance

Type 2 Diabetes Treatment

Type 2 Diabetes Screening and Prevention

Are Low Carbohydrate Diets Good for Type 2 Diabetes?

The Risks of Prediabetes

What is Insulin Resistance?

Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 Pathophysiology

See more featured articles »

Fibromyalgia and Diabetes

Living With Type 2 Diabetes

Insulin Resistance Pathophysiology

Vitamin D and Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 Diabetes Diagnosis

Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms

Insulin Resistance and Parkinson's Disease

Diabetes in Men versus Women

Is a Plant-Based Diet Good for Type 2 Diabetes?

What is Diabetes?

Does the Keto Diet Increase the Risk of Diabetes?

Latest Type 2 Diabetes News and Research

Partners of women with gestational diabetes face higher health risks

Partners of women with gestational diabetes have more health-related risk factors and morbidity than partners of women without gestational diabetes.

11 May 2026

Diabetes, weight-loss drugs not a perfect fit?

Type 2 diabetes affects millions of people worldwide and now a new international study, jointly led by Adelaide University, University of Oxford, ETH Zurich, and Stanford University, has found one in ten people may not be benefiting from common medications used to treat the condition.

11 May 2026

Urges for cardiologists to screen patients for UPF intake

The European Society of Cardiology identifies ultra-processed foods as a key cardiovascular risk, urging a shift in dietary guidelines for better heart health.

11 May 2026

Daily orforglipron treatment reduces weight and blood sugar in seniors

A new analysis to be presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026, Istanbul, Turkey, 12-15 May) examined daily oral orforglipron treatment for the treatment of obesity, with or without diabetes, in users aged 65 years and over, with results and a safety profile similar to that seen in the ATTAIN clinical trial programme population.

11 May 2026

Heart disease risk increases in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Heart disease risk has been found to increase in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), even in those with normal weight, according to research presented at the 28th European Congress of Endocrinology in Prague.

10 May 2026

Greater weight loss from GLP-1 drugs lowers health complication risk

New research to be presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026, Istanbul, Turkey, 12-15 May) shows that, following treatment for obesity or diabetes or both using incretin-based drugs, losing more weight versus less weight, and losing a little weight versus gaining weight, both lead to relatively lower risk of obesity-related conditions.

10 May 2026

Liver fat may disrupt post-meal glucagon control in early type 2 diabetes

Researchers found that MASLD, rather than type 2 diabetes alone, was linked to higher fasting glucagon levels in adults with newly diagnosed diabetes and matched controls. In people with early type 2 diabetes, higher liver fat was specifically associated with exaggerated early post-meal glucagon responses, independent of insulin sensitivity, visceral fat, amino acids, or NEFAs.

10 May 2026

Asthma medication formoterol shows promise for treating fatty liver disease

MUSC researchers are tackling MASH, or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, a liver disease affecting hundreds of millions worldwide.

8 May 2026

Insulin-dependent diabetes linked to sharply higher dementia risk

Individuals with diabetes are at an increased risk of developing dementia but those with insulin-requiring type 2 diabetes and type 1 diabetes have the greatest risk, according to research presented at the 28th European Congress of Endocrinology in Prague.

8 May 2026

UK media portrays Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes stigma differently

Media framing often differs between diabetes types, with implications for misconceptions, blame, and diabetes-related stigma.

8 May 2026

Metformin targets the gut instead of the liver to lower glucose

For decades, physicians and scientists thought metformin, the leading Type 2 diabetes medication taken by millions worldwide, mainly targets the liver to suppress glucose production.

8 May 2026

Time-restricted eating helps with adherence in diabetes patients

Time-restricted eating shows promise for type 2 diabetes management, with family support and simple rules aiding adherence and metabolic health improvements.

8 May 2026

UK restaurant chains miss most government sugar and salt targets

A study reveals low adherence to UK nutrition targets in major restaurant chains, raising concerns about dietary risks for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

8 May 2026

Postpartum diabetes monitoring remains low among many new mothers

Few women with postpartum-onset diabetes meet recommended A1C monitoring guidelines, highlighting a need to improve routine diabetes care-particularly among Black women-according to new research at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

8 May 2026

The role of gut bacteria in sustained diabetes improvement

Changes in gut microbiota after bariatric surgery are strongly linked to altered metabolic health and sustained improvement in type 2 diabetes, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Gothenburg.

7 May 2026

Kyoto University identifies a key regulator of insulin production

A hallmark of Type 2 diabetes is the progressive loss of beta cell mass: cells in the pancreas that produce and release insulin. The endoplasmic reticulum stress response, a cellular pathway that maintains protein homeostasis, plays a critical role in beta cell function and survival, and the protein ATF6α is one of the key regulators of this stress response.

7 May 2026