Many researchers don’t fully understand why some people develop prediabetes and type 2 diabetes and others don’t develop it. It is clear that certain factors increase the risk of prediabetes …such factors include weight and inactivity.
The more fatty tissue you have the more resistant your cells become to insulin. The less active you are the greater your risk. Physical activity helps you to control your weight, uses up glucose as energy and makes your cells more sensitive to insulin. Exercising less than three times a week may increase your risk of type 2 diabetes.

Your risk increases as you get older. This may be because you tend to exercise less, lose muscle mass and gain weight as you age. But type 2 diabetes is also increasing dramatically among children, adolescents and younger adults. If you developed gestational diabetes when you were pregnant, your risk of developing prediabetes and type 2 diabetes later increases. So if you gave birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds (4 kilograms), you’re also at risk of type 2 diabetes.

For women, having polycystic ovary syndrome … a common condition characterized by irregular menstrual periods, excess hair growth and obesity increases the risk of diabetes. Having blood pressure over 140/90mm Hg is also linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. If you have low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good,” cholesterol, your risk of type 2 diabetes is higher. Low levels of HDL are defined as below 35 mg/dL.

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