Blood Glucose Levels and Obesity Unit 2 Flashcards
How much sugar should be in the blood plasma usually ?
Around 5 millimoles per litre (5mmol/l)
How much sugar can be found in the blood of a diabetic person ?
Sometimes as much as 30mmol/l
Which part of the blood vessels absorbs the excess glucose if a diabetic person ?
The endothelium of the blood vessels
What happens to blood vessels that take in more glucose than usual ?
They become weaker and burst and bleed into surrounding tissues
What name is given to the condition caused by blood vessels that burst due to the weight of glucose in them ?
Microvascular disease
What organs can microvascular disease affect ?
Retina of the eyes, kidneys and the body’s extremities like the arms and legs
What is glucose stored as in the liver ?
Glycogen
Whenever glucose concentration rises following a meal, receptor cells in which organ detects it ?
Pancreas
Which hormone is released by the pancreas following a rise in blood glucose levels ?
Insulin
What organ does insulin hormone released by the pancreas go to ?
The Liver
What reaction is triggered in the liver by the hormone insulin ?
Glucose —> Glycogen
When glucose is converted to glycogen in the liver, what does this do to blood glucose levels ?
Lowers it
Whenever glucose levels fall and are ‘fone’ from the blood following a period without food or after sleeping, which organ detects it ?
The pancreas
Which hormone is released by the pancreas following a fall in blood glucose levels ?
Glucagon
What organ does glucagon hormone released by the liver go to ?
The liver
What reaction is triggered in the liver by the hormone glucagon ?
Glycogen —> Glucose
When glycogen is converted to glucose in the liver and the glucose is release into the blood, what does this do to blood glucose levels ?
Raise it
The constant retiring of glucose levels to a set point operates on what principle ?
Negative feedback control
Which hormone can promote the conversion of more glycogen to glucose in the liver to increase the supplies of glucose in the blood ?
Adrenaline
When would adrenaline be released ?
During exercise or the ‘fight or flight’ reactions
Name the two types of diabetes
Type 1 and type 2
Which type of diabetes is not linked to obesity ?
Type 1
What type of diabetes is linked to obesity ?
Type 2
How is type 1 diabetes controlled ?
By insulin injection and careful diet
In which type of diabetes are the receptors for insulin decreased and least sensitive to insulin ?
Type 2
Which type of diabetes tends to occur in childhood ?
Type 1
What would be found in the urine of a diabetic person ?
Glucose
What test do doctors carry out to diagnose diabetes ?
Glucose tolerance test
Give a brief description of the glucose tolerance test
- Person fasts for 8 hours
- Blood glucose levels measure
- Person given a drink loaded with a known amount of glucose
- The blood glucose levels are then monitored to see if they come back down to normal within 2.5 hours.
- The results are plotted to give a glucose tolerance curve
What condition is characterised by the accumulation of excess fat compared to lean tissue such as muscle ?
Obesity
Give three health problems caused by obesity ?
- Osteoarthritis
- Cardiovascular disease
- Type 2 diabetes
What is the formula for calculating Body Mass Index ?
(BMI) = Weight (kg) divided by height in metres squared
Who might a BMI not be accurate for ?
Bodybuilders as muscle weights more than fat and so the BMI might come out higher than it should be
