The concentration of glucose in the blood.
Blood sugar is the common term for blood glucose, the primary circulating sugar used by the body as an energy source. Blood glucose levels are regulated by hormones, especially insulin and glucagon, along with the effects of food intake, physical activity, illness, and other factors.
Blood glucose that remains too high or too low can cause health problems. Persistent elevation is a defining feature of diabetes.
QUICK FACT
Despite the common name “blood sugar,” the substance being measured is glucose, not table sugar.
COMMONLY CONFUSED WITH
- Blood glucose: the more precise medical term for blood sugar.
- Diabetes: a group of metabolic disorders characterized by persistently abnormal blood glucose regulation; a single high glucose measurement does not automatically establish diabetes.
SEE ALSO
