esearch indicates that type 2 diabetes is caused by a combination of environmental and genetic factors. Many risk factors make people more likely to develop the disease including obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and physical inactivity. Type 2 diabetes is more common among Native Americans, African Americans, Latinos and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders. Also, people who develop diabetes while pregnant (a condition called gestational diabetes) are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life, as are people with prediabetes or the metabolic syndrome – two diseases that are closely related to type 2 diabetes.