Type II diabetes is a serious problem that has been increasing over the years. The CDC predicts that by 2050, one in three American adults could have diabetes. Type II diabetes occurs when the body gradually loses the ability to use or produce insulin, this is the main cause of diabetes. A person with diabetes has many risk factors associated with this disease. Patients with diabetes are two to four times more likely to have a stroke and also die from heart disease. Diabetes is the leading cause of new blindness and non-traumatic amputations. Insulin is a hormone found in the body that is critical in many body functions. Insulin is a hormone made of a small polypeptide protein secreted by the pancreas that influences the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Your body breaks down these nutrients into sugar molecules, amino acid molecules, and lipid molecules. The body can also store and reassemble these molecules into more complex shapes. Insulin causes the storage of these nutrients. After eating a meal, blood sugars rise rapidly, especially after eating carbohydrates, this signals the release of insulin. Insulin binds to insulin receptors on the outside of cells to open channels for glucose to enter the cell to be stored via GLUT-4 inside the cell. With insulin resistance the pancreas has to work harder to compensate for the insulin resistance, but when the resistance worsens the pancreas cannot keep up and blood glucose levels remain high. One of the main ways to prevent type II diabetes and high blood glucose levels is to improve a patient's insulin sensitivity. Exercise has a similar effect on the body as insulin by stimulating cells to absorb blood glucose to...... middle of paper ......exercise training on age-related changes in sensitivity to insulin and in muscle oxidative capacity. Diabetes. 2003;52(8):1888-96.4. CENTER FOR DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL. Surveillance of youth risk behavior: United States, 2011. MMWR 2012;61(SS-4)5. CENTER FOR DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL. Physical activity levels among children aged 9–13 years: United States, 2002. MMWR 2003;52(SS-33):785–788.6. Yokoyama H, Emoto M, Araki T, Fujiwara S, al e. Effect of aerobic exercise on plasma adiponectin levels and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes treatment. 2004;27(7):1756-8.7. Facts about type 2 disabilities. http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/type-2/facts-about-type-2.html Published January 23, 2014. Accessed February 20, 2014.8. CENTER FOR DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL. http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/physicalactivity/facts.htm, published February 19, 2013. Accessed February 21, 20149. Hall J, Guyton A. Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology. 12th ed. Saunders.2010.