Not exercising. Supersize portions. Our love affair with food has taken a drastic turn. The number of Americans with type 2 diabetes—21 million, including adults and children—has risen with the obesity epidemic. Should you or you child get tested? Yes, if you have a family history of the disease and/or any of the following risk factors.

“If your body doesn’t make enough insulin [a hormone that carries glucose into your cells to give them energy],” which can happen with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, “glucose builds up in your bloodstream and comes out in your urine,” explains Janet Silverstein, MD, chief of pediatric endocrinology at the University of Florida. Because you’re urinating a lot, you’ll probably also be very thirsty and drinking more than usual.

This is usually a sign of type 1 diabetes, but it sometimes happens with type 2. When the body can’t make insulin, glucose (sugar) from food can’t be used by the body’s cells for energy or stored, says Dr. Silverstein. In addition, fat starts to break down, making you lose more weight

 

When your body starts pumping out too much insulin—which is common with type 2—receptors in the skin folds respond by making extra pigment, says Alyne Ricker, MD, pediatric endocrinologist at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.

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