You Can Get Type 2 Diabetes Even If You’re Skinny
You have the body to die for and you’ve never had to work hard to maintain your long-limbed, flat-bellied frame. You’re probably one of those people blessed with a fast metabolism who can eat just about anything – burgers, milkshakes, chips, you name it – and not put on any weight. Before you nod and call yourself lucky, it’s time for a wake up call. According to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, four in every ten “skinny fat people” like yourself have high blood sugar by the time they are 45-60 years and are therefore likely to have prediabetes. So, what should you do to prevent prevent prediabetes? Type 2 diabetes patients are no longer older, heavy and inactive The number of diabetes-related hospitalizations among people in their thirties has doubled in the past decade. A condition that can take half a lifetime to develop has suddenly become a young person’s problem. This led researchers from the University of Florida in the USA to track data from more than 1,000 people living in England. The study subjects all had healthy weight and no diagnosis of diabetes. They found that the study subjects who lead an inactive lifestyle were more likely to have blood sugar levels of 5.7 or more compared to those who exercised regularly. Overall, 25% of all inactive study subjects and 40% of study subjects over the age of 45 had prediabetes. Furthermore, they were able to prove that people who are “skinny fat” and don’t exercise are at heightened risk of prediabetes because they’re metabolically unhealthy. What you can do to avoid being metabolically unhealthy According to the researchers, people who we would consider to be at healthy weight – ie not overweight or obese – aren’t metabolically healthy. Researchers stress Continue reading >>
Slim And Healthy People Also Get Type 2 Diabetes
Overweight, an unhealthy lifestyle and old age are factors that many of us associate with people who are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. But this isn’t entirely true. In fact, the disease can hit the slim, the fat, the young and the old. This diversity of patients does not make life easy for doctors and researchers, as it creates a need for a great variety of treatment forms. For example, lifestyle changes only work for some patients and not for others. The ideal time for an insulin fix also varies greatly, depending on the patient. However, now two Danish researchers have cracked part of this code. Based on data from a comprehensive English study, they have identified three subgroups of type 2 diabetes patients that have different diseases patterns. In addition to showing that diabetes is expressed in a variety of ways, the study surprises by showing that only 25 percent of the type 2 diabetes patients follow the course of the disease that scientists so far have considered to be the most common one. ”This finding is the first step towards more targeted prevention and treatment for patients with the different subgroups of the disease,” says Kristine Færch, a senior researcher at the Steno Diabetes Center, who co-authored the study. Classification determined by blood sugar Insulin is the key ingredient when we’re talking about type 2 diabetes. Insulin is produced in the body and works by transporting the energy from our food into the cells, where the energy is used. Type 2 diabetes occurs either: As a result of insulin resistance, where the insulin gradually loses its ability to transport energy from food to the muscles. As a result of problems with the beta cells, which are those that produce or secrete insulin. It was previously believed that the most common c Continue reading >>
> Weight And Diabetes
A balanced diet and an active lifestyle can help all kids maintain a healthy weight. For kids with diabetes, diet and exercise are even more important because weight can affect diabetes and diabetes can affect weight. This is true for kids and teens with type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes. In diabetes, the body doesn't use glucose properly. Glucose, a sugar, is the main source of energy for the body. Glucose levels are controlled by a hormone called insulin, which is made in the pancreas. In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas does not make enough insulin. Undiagnosed or untreated type 1 diabetes can cause weight loss. Glucose builds up in the bloodstream if insulin isn't available to move it to the muscles. When glucose levels become high, the kidneys work to get rid of it through urine. This causes weight loss due to dehydration and loss of calories from the sugar that wasn't used as energy. Kids who develop type 1 diabetes often lose weight even though they have a normal or increased appetite. Once kids are diagnosed and treated for type 1 diabetes, weight usually returns to normal. Developing type 1 diabetes isn't related to being overweight, but keeping a healthy weight is important. Too much fat tissue can make it hard for insulin to work properly, leading to both higher insulin needs and trouble controlling blood sugar. In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas still makes insulin, but the insulin doesn't work in the body like it should and blood sugar levels get too high. Most kids and teens are overweight when they're diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Being overweight or obese increases the risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Also, weight gain in people with type 2 diabetes makes blood sugar levels even harder to control. People with type 2 diabetes have a condition called ins Continue reading >>
The Causes Of Insulin Resistance In Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes And Prediabetes (video)
Most people believe that people with type 1 diabetes are not insulin resistant simply because they are not overweight. This could not be farther from the truth. While insulin resistance affects many overweight individuals, many people with type 1 diabetes remain skinny their entire lives despite a large degree of insulin resistance (1–3). Over the past decade, I have helped many people with type 1 diabetes measure, track and reverse insulin resistance. In practice, 100% of all my clients with type 1 diabetes suffer from insulin resistance despite the assumption that they were insulin sensitive. By measuring their baseline insulin resistance, we were able to identify an impaired ability to utilize glucose as a fuel, and through dedicated diet modification and frequent exercise, some of my clients have reduced their insulin usage by as much as 60%. If you have type 1 diabetes, do not be fooled into thinking that you are insulin sensitive simply because you are skinny. Insulin resistance is a hidden condition, and affects both normal weight and overweight individuals (1–3). What Causes Insulin Resistance? Insulin resistance underlies all forms of diabetes, and is a condition which primarily affects your muscles, liver and adipose tissue. Many people think that diabetes is caused by an excess intake of sugar and candy starting from a young age. While eating artificial sweeteners and drinking soda can certainly increase your risk for the development of insulin resistance and diabetes, in most cases diabetes is caused by excessive FAT intake. The most important thing you can do as a person with diabetes is understand the following: Diabetes is caused by a fat metabolism disorder, which results in a glucose metabolism disorder. At the heart of all forms of diabetes is insu Continue reading >>
Sugar Blues
Gestational Diabetes: A threat to mom and baby. At my 26-week OB appointment, I drank a bottle of extra-sweet soda—imagine Mountain Dew spiked with pancake syrup—and an hour later, submitted my arm for a blood test. I was being screened for gestational diabetes and, as a gym regular and healthy eater (except for those first-trimester French-toast binges), I wasn't worried. But the next day I learned that my blood sugar exceeded the cutoff level, and I'd need a more precise test involving an overnight fast, four blood draws and a soda twice as sweet as the first. This time I was worried. What were the chances that I could actually have gestational diabetes? If so, what would that mean for me and the twins I was carrying? How concerned should I be? These are hot-button questions in the medical community. High blood sugar during pregnancy, what doctors call gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), now affects 5 percent to 8 percent of expectant women, up from 4 percent about 20 years ago. Doctors have known for decades that GDM puts women at risk for having large babies and Cesarean sections; new studies indicate it may have long-term consequences and that it poses risks at lower blood-sugar levels than previously thought. The good news is that proper treatment reduces these risks. A diagnosis might sound scary, says Danielle Symons Downs, Ph.D., an assistant professor of kinesiology at Pennsylvania State University in University Park, "but for a woman who takes it seriously and makes lifestyle changes, it could be the best thing to happen to her and her offspring." The Sugar Story Gestational diabetes develops when hormones from the placenta compromise a woman's ability to use the insulin produced by her pancreas. Though most women compensate by producing extra insulin to Continue reading >>
Skinny People Get Type 2 Diabetes Too: 10st 7lb Man Who Exercised Regularly Is Stunned To Learn He Has The Condition - Which He Then Reversed In 11 Days With New Diet
When I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes four years ago I was stunned. I’d gone for a check-up, and a routine blood test said it all: diabetes. But it made no sense. As a healthy 59-year-old, who went running, played regular cricket, drank moderately (2 units a week) and only weighed 10st 7lb, I was hardly overweight. In fact, at 5ft 7in, my Body Mass Index (BMI) was a healthy 21. Yes, I did overeat sometimes – I was thin and thought I could eat what I liked within reason – but it was mainly healthy food, few ready meals, semi-skimmed milk, grilled rather than fried food, chicken rather than red meat and lots of fresh veg. But over the past two years I had been under a lot of stress: my dad had recently died from prostate cancer, my job had changed radically, and I’d been on high blood pressure pills for a year. Stress can raise your blood sugar levels. But I still thought my diabetes diagnosis was ridiculous – how could someone with my weight and healthy lifestyle be facing the prospect of all the serious complications of type 2 diabetes in ten years’ time, including sight loss and a much greater risk of early death? My GP told me I could control my condition with diet, and gave me a long list of healthy foods and their glycaemic load (the effect each food has on your blood sugar level). After six months on this, my blood sugar level had dropped from 9mmol to 7, although this was still well above 6, the level at which type 2 diabetes is diagnosed. I wanted to be free of diabetes, not just control it. So I researched online and discovered the work of Professor Roy Taylor at Newcastle University. Type 2 is linked to fat clogging up the liver and pancreas, and Professor Taylor had shown that a very low calorie diet could reverse this. I had to try it. I chose Continue reading >>
Are You Skinny Fat? Why It Can Be Worse Than Being Obese
Save “Fat” is an enormous issue in this country. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 35% of Americans can be classified as obese and a whopping 70% of Americans are overweight. Being overweight or obese can increase your risk for a multitude of additional health problems including stroke, some cancers, heart disease, and depression. It can also seriously diminish quality of life. But what about “skinny fat?” It may frighten you to hear that we can suffer all these problems, even if we’re “normal” weight or underweight. In fact, about 25% of the remaining 30 percent of those who don’t fall into the overweight or obese categories are what I call “skinny fat,” and they can still have diabesity- a term I coined to describe the spectrum of imbalance ranging from mild insulin resistance to pre-diabetes to full-blown type 2 diabetes. Health repercussions for the “skinny fat” can be even more dangerous than being overweight or obese. You might be wondering how this is even possible. Let me explain this phenomenon. The “TOFI” Epidemic We all know some people who can eat whatever they want and stay thin. You might even be jealous that they can eat as much junk food and dessert as they want, but never have to worry about their weight. Unfortunately, the health consequences for these people might be a lot worse than you could imagine. Many of these people are “skinny fat,” a term that refers to people who do not have enough muscle tone, or are “underlean” instead of “overweight” and have extra visceral fat around the abdomen. In other words, these people are thin on the outside and fat on the inside, or TOFI. Dr. Jimmy Bell coined this acronym to describe people who are thin but unhealthy. These skinny-fat people have a low bo Continue reading >>
Are You ‘skinny Fat’?
The common wisdom is that if you’re overweight you're unhealthy, and if you’re thin, you're healthy. New research says otherwise. On the outside, you’re an average Joe with a normal build and a pant size that’s readily available. But on the inside – it’s a different story. The term "skinny fat” is a phrase used to describe people who look fit and healthy on the surface yet, due to a lack of exercise or poor diet, have a slew of health problems brewing beneath it. One study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found nearly one in four skinny people have pre-diabetes and are “metabolically obese.” In other words, are skinny fat. Here’s the thing: diabetes is the fastest-growing chronic health problem plaguing Aussies, yet many of us wouldn’t know how to spot if we were at risk of the deadly disease. One Australian is diagnosed with diabetes every five minutes. Of those, 85-95 per cent will be diagnosed with type 2, a condition that’s both deadly and preventable. Sof Andrikopoulos, CEO of the Australian Diabetes Society, describes type 1 and type 2 diabetes as diseases of the pancreas, in which the pancreas is unable to secrete enough insulin to regulate the glucose levels in our blood. “With type 1, the immune system actually kills the cells that produce insulin so there’s a complete deficiency. With type 2, the insulin-producing cells don’t work efficiently so there’s a relative deficiency.” Type 2 used to typically affect men and women who were over 55. That’s all changed now, Andrikopoulos says: “When I started in diabetes research 25 years ago, you had to be over 55 to get type 2 but now we’re seeing it in young adults, adolescents and even in children under 10. It all comes down to our lifestyle – the Continue reading >>
Why Thin People Can Become Diabetic—and It’s Not Insulin Resistance
There is a blatantly illogical explanation in medicine about Type 2 diabetes being caused by insulin resistance. On one hand, it is claimed that weight gain in the form of excess fat causes insulin resistance, and other hand, it is also claimed thin people, who by definition, do not seem to have to extra fat, can develop insulin resistance, too. In my view, this is contradictory and points to yet another reason that insulin resistance as the cause of Type 2 diabetes does not make sense. Let me give you four reasons why it makes no sense biologically that insulin resistance occurs in both obese people and thin (lean) people and causes Type 2 diabetes: 1. In obese people, the current medical teaching is that the accumulation of excess fat causes insulin resistance as well as impairs insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Meanwhile, to explain why thin people get diabetes, it is believed that these people suffer from a rare genetic “defect” characterized by a lack of fatty tissue. In other words, on one hand, excess fat causes insulin resistance while on the other hand insufficient fat can also cause it. 2. The amount of fat tissue a person has is actually a function of the number of fat cells and the capacity of each cell to store fat (also called triglyceride). The number of fat cells increases from childhood ending with about 50 billion in an average adult. Obese adults do not have more fat cells than they had before, but they have larger fat cells, up to 4 times the normal size, when filled to capacity with fat. When a person loses weight, the number of fat cells remain the same, but each cell loses fat. We know that obese people who lose weight can lower their blood sugar and even reverse diabetes. But this presents another paradox: Why don’t obese diabetics w Continue reading >>
Why Do Skinny People Get Type 2 Diabetes?
Of all the misconceptions about type 2 diabetes one of the worst is, “Only overweight people get diabetes.” What some may fail to realize is that there is a genetic risk factor associated with type 2 diabetes. A new study is taking a closer look at lifestyle interventions versus genetic testing in preventing type 2 diabetes. We know that type 2 diabetes results from a combination of both genetic and lifestyle factors, but we don’t know if adverse lifestyles, like being overweight or sedentary, increase an individual’s underlying genetic risk of diabetes. “If, for example, obese individuals with a high level of genetic risk have a higher risk of developing diabetes than obese individuals with a low level of genetic risk, then preventative strategies that target lifestyle interventions to obese individuals with a high genetic risk would be more effective than strategies that target all obese individuals,” says the study. Researchers found that genetics played a larger role than lifestyle factors in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in those who were younger and leaner. Most importantly, the research showed that the risk of type 2 diabetes increased in those who were obese whatever their level of genetic risk. Is it in your genes? The American Diabetes Association reports that type 2 diabetes has a stronger link to family history and lineage than type 1. “Lifestyle also influences the development of type 2 diabetes. Obesity tends to run in families, and families tend to have similar eating and exercise habits,” says the ADA. “If you have a family history of type 2 diabetes, it may be difficult to figure out whether your diabetes is due to lifestyle factors or genetic susceptibility. Most likely it is due to both. However, don’t lose heart. Studies Continue reading >>
Are You A Skinny Fat Person? 10 Steps To Cure The Skinny Fat Syndrome
The common wisdom is that if you are overweight you are unhealthy, and if you are thin, you are healthy. But new research points to just how dangerous being skinny can be — if you are a “skinny fat” person, that is. The medical term for this is “MONW,” or metabolically obese normal weight, which I prefer to refer to as being a skinny fat person. It means you are under lean but over fat — not enough muscle and too much fat (especially belly fat). It seems it is better to be fat and fit than thin and out of shape. While we know that 68 percent of the American population is overweight, and that most have diabesity — being somewhere on the continuum of pre-diabetes to Type 2 diabetes — the shocking news from a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association is that nearly 1 in 4 skinny people have pre-diabetes and are “metabolically obese.” What’s worse is that if you are a skinny fat person and get diagnosed with diabetes, you have twice the risk of death than if you are overweight when diagnosed with diabetes. Perhaps having that extra muscle on your body from having to carry around those extra pounds protects you. Studies on teenagers found that 37 percent of the skinny kids had one or more signs of pre-diabetes such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, or high cholesterol. Wait — almost four out of 10 normal-weight kids are pre-diabetic? It is bad enough that one-third of kids are overweight or obese in America, but now it appears that only about 20 percent of children in America are healthy. In other words, 8 out of 10 children in America are overweight or have pre-diabetes or Type 2 diabetes. In my medical practice I see this all the time. Jim came in for a “wellness check up” and felt happy about his weight. His BMI Continue reading >>
Diabetes Can Strike—hard—even When Weight Is Normal
We tend to think of type 2 diabetes as a disease that afflicts people who are overweight. But it can also appear in people with perfectly healthy weights—and be more deadly in them. A study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association indicates that normal-weight people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes have double the risk of dying from heart disease and other causes than overweight people with diabetes. Such apparent “protection” by excess weight has been called the obesity paradox. It’s been seen with other conditions, like heart failure and end-stage kidney disease. Overweight or obese people with these conditions seem to fare better or live longer than their normal-weight counterparts. That doesn’t mean gaining weight is a healthy strategy. Instead, it probably means that something else besides weight—like the amount of fat around the waist—may be contributing to the onset and severity of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes types There are two basic types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body stops making insulin. This happens when the immune system mistakenly attacks insulin-making cells in the pancreas. Without insulin, cells can’t absorb sugar (glucose) from the bloodstream. The resulting high sugar levels in the blood damages nerves, arteries, and other tissues. Type 1 diabetes often appears early in life, but can happen later. People with type 1 diabetes must take insulin. Type 2 diabetes occurs when cells become resistant to insulin’s “open up for sugar” signal. Exactly why this happens is still something of a mystery. But excess weight contributes to it, since fat cells affect how the body uses glucose and produces insulin. Lack of physical activity also plays a role. Medications that make muscle and other cells mor Continue reading >>
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Can Thin People Get Type 2 Diabetes?
Almost 90 percent of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese, according to government statistics, and it's known that carrying excess weight ups your diabetes risk. The reason is that fat interferes with your ability to use insulin — insulin moves sugar (glucose) from your blood to your cells, which need the sugar for energy. But don't think you're off the hook if you're thin — you still can be at risk for type 2 diabetes, even if you're not heavy. The risk for developing type 2 diabetes may be smaller if you're thin, but it's still real, especially if you're older, says Christopher Case, MD, who specializes in endocrinology in Jefferson City, Mo. It's not known exactly how many thin or normal-weight people have type 2 diabetes, but part of that may be because there is no standard definition for "thin," Dr. Case says. "They may not look obese," Case says, but any excess weight, especially around the stomach, is a risk factor. One of the reasons people can have high blood sugar and develop diabetes whether they're thin or obese is because weight, though a contributing factor, is not the only factor. Type 2 Diabetes Could Be in Your Genes Genetics plays a role in developing type 2 diabetes. Studies show that people who have a close relative (parent or sibling) with type 2 diabetes have a greater than three times higher risk of developing the disease than those with no family history, Case says. Genetics may explain why some people who are thin develop type 2 diabetes and why an obese person might not, he says. African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics, and Native Americans also are at greater risk for type 2 diabetes. Lifestyle Choices Raise Your Diabetes Risk These other risk factors, often associated with people who are overweight, can plague thin people, too Continue reading >>
Even Skinny People Are At Risk For Type 2 Diabetes
With November being National Diabetes Month, there’s more than the usual focus on the epidemic in this country: 25.8 million children and adults in the United States -- 8.3% of the population -- have diabetes, with 7 million of them undiagnosed, according to the American Diabetes Association. And we have all heard the description of a typical patient with type 2 diabetes. He or she is overweight or obese and sedentary. But you may be surprised to learn that people who are slender and active can develop type 2 diabetes as well, and the symptoms for the majority of those afflicted (normal and overweight) can be subtle. Interestingly, the risk for diabetes is more about the fat you have inside your body than what is visible. What I’m talking about is visceral fat – the fat surrounding your organs. There is a condition known as Thin Outside, Fat Inside, or TOFI for short. These are people who look trim but have visceral fat, which can lead to inflammation and possibly diabetes. Are you at risk for type 2 diabetes? While normal weight men can certainly develop diabetes, the usual suspects are women who watch their calorie intake to keep their weight down, but they don’t eat quality calories. As an example, skipping breakfast, eating a small bag of potato chips for lunch, pasta for dinner and salad with regular dressing and drinking diet soda all day may be the kind of diet the aforementioned women might eat. You probably won’t gain weight on this diet, but you will increase your internal fat. The other culprit is yo-yo dieting. When you lose weight, you lose fat and muscle. When you yo-yo back up the scale, fat settles where muscle used to be. Can type 2 diabetes be prevented? Stress can also contribute to visceral fat. When a person is constantly stressed out ther Continue reading >>
6 Signs Your Type 2 Diabetes Might Really Be Type 1
Reviewed by endocrinologist Stanley S. Schwartz, MD, emeritus Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and George Grunberger, MD, FACP, FACE, Chairman of the Grunberger Diabetes Institute, Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine and Molecular Medicine & Genetics at Wayne State University School of Medicine and President of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. Up to 10%1 of people with type 2 diabetes may actually have a form of diabetes known as latent autoimmune diabetes in adults, or LADA, where the immune system slowly destroys insulin-producing beta cells. That’s the conclusion of a string of studies that have looked at this mysterious high blood sugar problem since it was first recognized by Scottish endocrinologists in the late 1970s.2 Yet 39 years later, most of the estimated 3 million or more Americans with LADA think they’ve got type 2 diabetes. That misdiagnosis can cause frustration, misunderstandings and even health problems, says endocrinologist Stanley S. Schwartz, MD, an emeritus Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. “If your doctor is not thinking about the possibility of LADA, he or she may not prescribe the diabetes drugs early on that could help extend the life of your insulin-producing beta cells,” Dr. Schwartz says. “With LADA, you lose the ability to produce insulin much more quickly than the typical type 2. But a doctor who believes you’re a type 2 may hesitate to prescribe insulin when your blood sugar levels rise, thinking that a healthier lifestyle and higher doses of other medications will work.” As a result, your blood sugar could skyrocket, increasing your risk for diabetes complications, says George Grunberger, MD, FACP, FACE, Chairman of the Grunberger Di Continue reading >>
