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.

What is Insulin Resistance?

Insulin Resistance Pathophysiology

Causes of Insulin Resistance

Insulin Resistance Symptoms

Are Low Carbohydrate Diets Good for Type 2 Diabetes?

Insulin Medication

Insulin Resistance Treatment

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes in Men versus Women

Fibromyalgia and Diabetes

Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 Pathophysiology

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Insulin Resistance Diagnosis

Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms

Type 2 Diabetes Treatment

Type 2 Diabetes Diagnosis

Does the Keto Diet Increase the Risk of Diabetes?

The Risks of Prediabetes

Type 2 Diabetes Screening and Prevention

Living With Type 2 Diabetes

Latest Type 2 Diabetes News and Research

GLP-1 drugs have benefits beyond weight loss. Could microdoses preserve them?

A narrative review suggests GLP-1-based therapies deliver metabolic, cardiovascular, renal, and other systemic benefits, raising interest in whether lower fractional doses could improve tolerability and treatment continuity. However, direct evidence for GLP-1 microdosing remains extremely limited, and researchers say prospective studies are needed to determine whether lower doses preserve long-term benefits.

1 Sep 2026

Experts call for safer weight loss as concerns grow over GLP-1 use

An editorial in Diabetology International argues that inappropriate GLP-1 use should be judged not only by regulatory compliance or off-label prescribing, but also by whether weight reduction is medically safe, nutritionally adequate, and properly supervised. Drawing on Japanese reports of ketosis and ketoacidosis following inappropriate tirzepatide use, the authors call for greater attention to the risks of unsafe weight-loss practices alongside medication-related harms.

30 Aug 2026

Is there a best day to take GLP-1 drugs? Researchers looked for an answer

A systematic review of 1,000 screened records identified only three eligible studies examining administration timing for semaglutide, and none directly compared different days of the week or assessed tirzepatide timing. The limited evidence suggests flexible dosing may support adherence and tolerability without compromising glycemic control or weight loss, but these findings rely largely on indirect evidence and expert opinion rather than direct comparative trials.

30 Aug 2026

Starting statins early after diabetes diagnosis linked to lower dementia risk

Early initiation of statins after diagnosis of type 2 diabetes was associated with a lower risk of dementia, according to a study presented today at ESC Congress 2026 and published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe.

30 Aug 2026

Met-HeFT trial finds no cardiovascular benefit from metformin

Metformin did not significantly affect the risk of cardiovascular outcomes in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and diabetes or at risk of diabetes.

30 Aug 2026

Your skin may offer clues about how many fruits and vegetables you eat

In an exploratory study of 137 Australian adults, skin yellowness measured by reflectance spectroscopy was associated with combined fruit and vegetable intake, fruit intake alone, total carotenoid intake, body fat percentage and skin color. The findings suggest skin measurements could provide an objective dietary biomarker, but the researchers caution that skin color, ethnicity and other individual characteristics may influence how the measurements are interpreted.

30 Aug 2026

Study identifies role for peroxisomes in protecting insulin and maintaining beta cell health

Researchers at LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center have identified a previously underappreciated role for tiny structures inside cells called peroxisomes in protecting insulin and maintaining the health and maturity of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells.

28 Aug 2026

Scientists reviewed 20 edible and medicinal fungi for clues to better prebiotics

A review of 20 non-toxic edible and medicinal fungal species found that their polysaccharides can resist digestion, interact with gut microbes, and influence microbial metabolites linked to intestinal and metabolic health. The evidence suggests potential benefits for conditions including colitis, type 2 diabetes, and obesity, although most findings currently come from laboratory and animal studies.

27 Aug 2026

Sunlight, blood sugar and diabetes: a new study finds an intriguing connection

Higher short-term ambient UVA exposure was associated with modestly lower blood glucose levels, particularly during winter, in a large UK Biobank analysis. Separately, more frequent solarium use, used as a proxy for habitual sunlight exposure, was associated with a lower hazard of type 2 diabetes, although the observational findings do not establish causality.

27 Aug 2026

Ketogenic diet excels at reversing prediabetes and fatty liver

There is no shortage of popular diets to try, and they can generally produce weight loss if followed to the letter. But are all diet plans created equal in terms of reducing the cardiometabolic risks that come with obesity, such as Type 2 diabetes and liver disease?

27 Aug 2026

A year after women lost weight, researchers saw which health gains lasted and which faded

Diet-induced weight loss significantly reduced predicted 10-year risks of major adverse cardiovascular events and type 2 diabetes in healthy premenopausal women with overweight, regardless of whether aerobic or resistance exercise was added. Some of these gains diminished as weight was partially regained over the following year, although greater exercise adherence was associated with less rebound in predicted diabetes risk.

25 Aug 2026

Diabetes study reveals differing health risks for men and women

In the years following type 2 diabetes diagnosis, women are more likely to develop mental health conditions, while men are more likely to develop cardiovascular and renal complications, according to a study published August 25th in the open access journal PLOS Medicine by Fabiola Eto from Queen Mary University of London, UK, and colleagues.

25 Aug 2026

What decades of wine research can, and cannot, tell us about health

A narrative review found that moderate wine intake has repeatedly been associated with lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, with proposed mechanisms involving ethanol and grape-derived polyphenols, but the evidence remains largely observational and cannot establish causation. The authors argue that drinking pattern, beverage type, age, cancer risk, and risk-modeling choices all influence how the J-shaped association should be interpreted and how alcohol guidelines are developed.

25 Aug 2026

From caffeine to trigonelline, coffee has surprising links to muscle biology

A scoping review of 54 studies found that coffee and several coffee-derived bioactive compounds influence pathways linked to skeletal muscle metabolism, including insulin signaling, mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, inflammation, glucose uptake, and protein turnover. Human studies reported associations with greater muscle mass and lower frailty or functional impairment, but most evidence remains observational or preclinical and cannot establish causality.

25 Aug 2026

Researchers link GLP-1 drugs to lower tuberculosis risk in type 2 diabetes

A large retrospective cohort study found that GLP-1 receptor agonist use was associated with a lower risk of tuberculosis in people with type 2 diabetes compared with sulfonylureas, metformin, DPP-4 inhibitors, and SGLT2 inhibitors. The observational findings suggest a possible benefit beyond metabolic control, but the authors emphasize that prospective and mechanistic studies are needed to determine whether GLP-1 therapies themselves reduce TB risk.

24 Aug 2026

Type 2 diabetes incidence increases 10-fold among American youth

Type 2 diabetes has traditionally been a disease that has developed mostly in middle-aged and older adults.

24 Aug 2026

Type 2 diabetes mechanisms differ significantly based on patient BMI

Research published today in Diabetologia by Amsterdam UMC and the University of Ghana reveals that type 2 diabetes manifests in two fundamentally different ways depending on a patient's body mass index (BMI).

24 Aug 2026

A two-year diet trial challenges the idea that weight loss is the only result that matters

In the two-year DELISH randomized trial, adults with obesity achieved modest, sustained weight loss with either an adapted Mediterranean-style program or a commercial weight loss program. The Mediterranean-style intervention produced greater improvements in self-reported diet quality, while 24-month weight loss did not materially differ between groups.

24 Aug 2026

Review outlines how SIRT3 protein regulates global metabolic disorders

A comprehensive review published in Engineering systematically outlines the regulatory capacity of silent information regulator 3 (SIRT3), a mitochondrial deacetylase termed the "head goose molecule", and its negentropic mechanism for intervening global metabolic disorders including type 2 diabetes, obesity, and steatotic liver disease.

21 Aug 2026

AI-powered DANDELION identifies overlooked genes linked to asthma

One of the most important goals of studying genetics is to find genes that are involved with diseases. The problem is that most diseases aren't caused by a single gene or mutation.

20 Aug 2026