The Link between Environmental Factors and the Development of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM): Literature Review

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic medical condition where the body has high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “type 2 diabetes has substantially increased among young people over the last two decades,” and as many as 220,000 young people may have type 2 diabetes in 2060. This potential upsurge of diabetes poses a public health challenge as type 2 diabetes increases the risk of a person getting other illnesses such as heart disease and stroke amongst many others. Type 2 diabetes can be said to be increasing in frequency because of the drastic changes in the lifestyle of the populace, especially after the large restriction on movement during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, a person is more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if they are not physically active and are overweight or have obesity. This paper will explore existing studies and literature on the relationship between the environment and the risk factors of type 2 diabetes. The environmental factors that are explored in this research paper such as walkability, air pollution, food and physical activity environment and roadways proximity encourage or discourage certain lifestyles that are proven to be risk factors of diabetes. In this paper, there will be an analysis of existing literature on diabetes, discussion on the challenges of establishing a link between type 2 diabetes and the environment, and the solutions to the environmental problems that may influence the risk factors of type 2 diabetes. It must be considered that no firsthand experiments were conducted in this research.