If your spouse or partner has type 2 diabetes, you have double the risk of developing it yourself. This finding comes from a large Kaiser Permanente study. The researchers found that spouses or live-in partners of individuals newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are twice as likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes themselves within only a year. Dr. Mohammed K Ali of Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia was the primary researcher involved in this study and commented that "Even if you are not genetically related, if you are a residing spouse or domestic partner, just that shared environment is associated with an increased risk”. Type 2 diabetes does have a strong genetic component. You are far more likely to develop the disease if one or both of your parents has it. However, diet and lifestyle have powerful effects on your risk of every disease, not just diabetes. This study points out just have powerful these influences really are. Type 2 diabetes usually takes many years to slowly develop. It its early stages it produces very few symptoms. That means many people go undiagnosed for years. People who live together usually eat similar foods and end up having similar metabolic conditions. If your spouse has developed type 2 diabetes, it is highly likely you could have it too, but you haven’t been diagnosed yet. The good news is, if someone makes positive diet and lifestyle choices, this tends to rub off on their spouse. When one person decides to lose weight and get healthy, both often benefit. The other message from this study is a nice reminder that your genes really aren’t all that powerful. Many people feel quite defeated and depressed by their family history of health conditions and feel powerless to do anything about them. Your daily diet and lifestyle habits have a far greater influence over your risk of type 2 diabetes than your genes. For more information see our book Diabetes Type 2: You Can Reverse It. Reference