Diabetes

Diabetes is a lifelong condition where either your body does not produce enough insulin, or your body cannot use the insulin it produces. Your body needs insulin to change the sugar from food into energy. There are three main types of diabetes:

  • Type 1, where the body makes little or no insulin;
  • Type 2, where the body makes insulin but cannot use it properly; and
  • Gestational Diabetes, where the body is not able to properly use insulin during pregnancy. This type of diabetes goes away after the baby is born.

Nine out of ten people with diabetes have Type 2.

General Information

Related Resources

Canadian Diabetes Strategy
Diabetes is a complex health problem and a national challenge. The purpose of the Canadian Diabetes Strategy, managed by the Public Health Agency of Canada, is to articulate and establish effective diabetes prevention and control strategies for Canada.

Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative
In Canada, Aboriginal people are at greater risk for developing type 2 diabetes than other Canadians. Even Aboriginal children are now being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes -- a condition that once occurred mainly in older adults. Although Inuit rates of diabetes are not as high as other Aboriginal populations, there is concern that the rates of type 2 diabetes are increasing among Inuit as well.

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