The Link Between Obesity and Diabetes
A recent study by Monash University has proven a critical link between obesity and the onset of Type 2 diabetes. Obesity is one of the most important factors in the development of insulin resistance.
Diabetes is a disorder that affects the way your body uses food for energy. Normally, the sugar you take in is digested and broken down into a simple sugar known as glucose. The glucose then circulates in your blood where it waits to enter cells to be used as fuel. Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, helps move the glucose into cells. A healthy pancreas adjusts the amount of insulin based on the level of glucose. If you have diabetes, this process breaks down, and blood sugar levels become too high.
According to Professor Watt, "The more fat tissue a person has the less sensitive they become to insulin. Therefore a greater amount of insulin is required to maintain the body's regulation of blood-glucose." This explains why obese people have a higher tendency to become diabetic.
Therefore, doctors recommend losing weight to lower elevated blood glucose levels in overweight and obese persons with Type 2 diabetes. Experts have evaluated dozens of controlled clinical trials to determine the effect of weight loss on fasting blood glucose and fasting insulin levels and they have found that weight loss produced by lifestyle modification reduces blood glucose levels and hemoglobin in some patients with Type 2 diabetes.
It also was found that decreasing abdominal fat will improve glucose tolerance in overweight individuals (BMI over 25). Losing weight through medication does not improve blood glucose levels any better than losing weight through lifestyle changes in overweight people with or without Type 2 diabetes.
Although genetics is understood to play an important role in developing diabetes, it is not the considered to be the sole determinant in whether an individual develops the disease. Other factors including environment and lifestyle play critical roles. Doctors continue to recommend the effectiveness of weight control/management and eating a balanced diet to help postpone or prevent Type 2 diabetes.
source
- http://diabetes.about.com
- http://www.lifeclinic.com
- http://www.sciencedaily.com