Carrying an excess amount of belly fat increases a person's risk of developing type 2 diabetes. And though frequent high blood sugars alone can be detrimental to someone's health, it's oftentimes the associated complications of type 2 diabetes that take quite a toll on people's lives.

A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine revealed that diabetes (both type 1 and type 2) complications can take up to eight years off a person's life. In particular, people with diabetes face an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, according to the study. Researchers found that women with diabetes developed cardiovascular disease 8.4 years sooner than women without diabetes. Consequently, women aged 50 and older with diabetes lived 8.2 fewer years than people without the disease.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that results in the permanent destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, an occurrence that happens for reasons unrelated to diet, exercise, or any other known factor. Type 2 diabetes, however, can many times be prevented or controlled with proper diet and regular exercise.