Blood sugar levels are regulated by negative feedback in order to keep the body in homeostasis. The levels of glucose in the blood are monitored by the pancreas, when the concentration of glucose falls, perhaps due to exercise, the pancreas releases more glucagon. Glucagon is a hormone which targets cells in the liver, causing them to convert glycogen into glucose, increasing blood sugar levels.
If the pancreas detects an increase in blood sugar, which could be a result of eating, then it secretes more insulin, this hormone causes the liver to convert more glucose into glycogen and so decreases blood sugar levels. Diabetes mellitus is caused either by insufficent production of insulin or lack of response to endogenous insulin, which results in too much glucose in the blood.
Bloodglucose testing can be used to screen healthy, asymptomatic individuals for diabetes and pre-diabetes because diabetes is a common disease that begins with few symptoms.
Bloodglucose testing is also done in emergency settings to determine if low or high glucose is contributing to symptoms such as fainting and unconsciousness.
Hypoglycemia is characterized by a drop in bloodglucose to a level where first it causes nervous system symptoms (sweating, palpitations, hunger, trembling, and anxiety), then begins to affect the brain (causing confusion, hallucinations, blurred vision, and sometimes even coma and death).
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