ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the rates of different risk behaviours among adolescents with diabetes and to consider and respond to the health implications of such behaviours. Research on the use of illegal substances among young people with diabetes is scarce and concludes that it may contribute to poor glycaemic control and to serious complications. In the specific case of cannabis, it should be considered as acting like tobacco, because most cannabis users also smoke, and because cannabis users almost always add tobacco to their cannabis cigarettes. Unsafe sexual practices place female adolescents with diabetes at high risk for unplanned pregnancies and reproductive complications. Physical activity is considered one of the cornerstones in the treatment of diabetes and it is associated with improved insulin sensitivity and lipid profile, as well as with an increased well-being. Participation in risk behaviours is part of adolescence, to the point where this can be considered part of normal adolescent development.
