Diabetes is usually first diagnosed or indicated by sugar in the urine. So whenever you go to doctors for physical and they ask for urine they do a diptest with a little stick that indicates sugar levels and whether they are normal. After that they can further run tests to confirm if the sugar is in fact due to lack of or poor production of insulin.
Diabetes is hereditary and is commonly found in those with obesity. However, once you get diabetes weight loss does not eliminate the disease but may help control it.
For more info go here:
http://www.diabetes.org/homepage.jsp
[ 01-10-2004, 08:41 AM: Message edited by: Smoothie ]