You eat.Get up and go. Staying active and decreasing the amount of time spent in sedentary activities (like watching TV, being online, or playing video or computer games) can also help to prevent type 2 diabetes.For example, people with a Native American, African, Hispanic/Latino, or Asian/Pacific Islander racial/ethnic background are at higher risk for getting type 2 diabetes.Try to eat foods that are low in fat and high in other nutrients -- like whole-grain cereals and breads, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and lean proteins.Eating lots of calorie-laden fast food and sugar-filled beverages -- like sodas, juices, and iced teas -- can lead to a lot of weight gain.In type 1 diabetes, a person's immune system attacks the pancreas and destroys the cells that make insulin.In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas can still make insulin, but the body doesn't respond to it in the right way.Your pancreas makes a hormone called insulin.The pancreas is a long, flat gland in your belly that helps your body digest food.But if someone has diabetes, the body either can't make insulin (this is called type 1 diabetes) or the insulin doesn't work in the body like it should (this is called type 2 diabetes).But just getting the genes for diabetes isn't usually enough.Type 1 diabetes isn't contagious, so you can't catch it from another person or pass it along to your friends.In the past, mainly overweight adults developed type 2 diabetes.Today, more kids and teens have type 2 diabetes, probably because more kids and teens are overweight.If you want to help keep yourself from getting type 2 diabetes -- or just be healthier in lots of other ways -- take these steps: Eat good-for-you foods.These super foods provide you with the nutrition you need to grow, but are also great for helping you get to or stay at a healthy weight, which can help prevent type 2 diabetes.Glucose from the food gets into your bloodstream.Can Type 1 Diabetes Be Prevented?