Conceptualizing type 2 diabetes and its management

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes is growing worldwide due to population growth, increased rates of obesity, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity. Risk assessment methods can effectively evaluate the risk of diabetes, and a healthy lifestyle can significantly reduce risk or prevent complications of type 2 diabetes. However, risk assessment alone has not significantly improved poor adherence to recommended medical interventions and lifestyle changes. This paper focuses on the challenge of nonadherence and posits that improving adherence requires tailoring interventions that explicitly consider the social determinants of health. © 2016 Nascimento et al. This work is published by Dove Medical Press Limited.