Which of the following statements is true regarding type 2 diabetes mellitus?

In type 2 diabetes mellitus, hyperglycemia can often be managed through lifestyle changes, oral medications, and other non-insulin therapies. Unlike type 1 diabetes, where individuals are often dependent on insulin from the onset of the disease due to the destruction of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, type 2 diabetes typically allows for some degree of endogenous insulin production. As a result, many patients can maintain glycemic control through means other than insulin injections, especially in the early stages of the disease.

This information highlights the flexible treatment approach utilized for type 2 diabetes, which can include dietary modification, exercise, and oral hypoglycemic agents without the immediate need for insulin therapy. Therefore, stating that hyperglycemia is frequently controlled without insulin replacement accurately reflects the management strategies for type 2 diabetes.

The other statements do not accurately portray the characteristics of type 2 diabetes mellitus: insulin levels can vary and are often normal or even high in the early stages; while the 3-hour oral glucose tolerance test is used in some diagnoses, it is not the most common method, especially when simpler tests like fasting glucose and HbA1c are available; and unexplained weight loss is more commonly associated with type 1 diabetes rather than type 2