Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes, formerly called juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is usually first diagnosed in children, teenagers or young adults. Treatment for type 1 diabetes includes taking insulin shots or using an insulin pump, making wise food choices, exercising regularly, controlling blood pressure and cholesterol, and islet cell transplantation (an experimental method to help control blood glucose levels without insulin injections).
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes, formerly called adult-onset or non-insulin-dependent diabetes, is the most common form of diabetes. People can develop type 2 diabetes at any age. Being overweight and inactive increases the chances of developing type 2 diabetes. Treatment includes taking diabetes medicines, making wise food choices, exercising regularly, taking aspirin daily, controlling blood pressure and cholesterol, and use of oral or injected insulin.
Gestational Diabetes
Some women develop gestational diabetes during the late stages of pregnancy. Although this form of diabetes usually goes away after the baby is born, a woman who has had it is more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life.
—from National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH