How do people get diabetes?

Genetics, mainly.: The vast majority of people who get diabetes are genetically predisposed to such. Poor eating habits, lack of exercise and generally sedentary lifestyle can make this predisposition appear sooner in life, as would being overweight or obese.

It depends on type: Type 1 diabetes occurs when a person’s immune system destroys the insulin-producing cells in their pancreas. It usually occurs earlier in life. Type 2 diabetes is associated with obesity, physical inactivity, and genetics and may occur at any time in life, although more often in adulthood. There’s also gestational diabetes, which happens in pregnancy and may predict type 2 diabetes.