your environment may put you at risk for diabetes

cold temperatures can help decrease risk 

in a 2017 study published in the canadian medical association journal , researchers found that cold winter weather could help reduce the risk of gestational diabetes for pregnant people. in an interview with dr. gillian booth, the lead author of the study and a professor in the department of medicine at the university of toronto and scientist at the map centre for urban health solutions at st. michael’s hospital, she says being exposed to an environment of 16c for two hours was enough to activate brown fat—a part of our tissue that generates heat and metabolism when exposed to cold weather.

your postal code matters

how close you live to major roads and industrial areas will affect your risk of diabetes as much as your family’s ethnic background. in another study by booth , she found the high rates of diabetes in the peel region in ontario stemmed from the region’s diverse population and the suburb’s planning. people of south asian and caribbean descent are more susceptible to developing diabetes than caucasians, plus  many peel residents live close to high-traffic intersections and wide streets — resulting in neighbourhoods with low walkability and high traffic pollution.

there have been multiple studies drawing the link between air quality and diabetes. a three-year study published in the journal diabetes  found that air pollution increased latino children’s risk for developing type 2 diabetes. a new study published from the university of british columbia, researchers found that air pollution is the fourth-highest risk factor for death in the world.

a large study published in the lancet planetary health that followed 1.7 million american veterans and measured particulate matter—often created from cars—in the air found there was a significant association between a person’s risk of diabetes and the air they breathed. the belief is that these particulate matter contain toxic metals and when a person breathes in these pollutants, it enters their bloodstream and causes inflammation and increase insulin resistance.

poverty is a risk factor