The Link Between Weight Gain And Diabetes

Approximately 16 million people in the United States are diagnosed with diabetes based on national statistics. In reality, through, this figure is much higher. It is estimated that another 5.4 million people have the disease and are not aware of it. Type II diabetes, also called adult onset diabetes, now appears routinely in six year old children. Minorities are at particular risk, as their diet consists mainly of cheap fast foods, such as hamburgers, fried chicken, pasta, potatoes, refined sweets and other highly processed foods and beverages.

These foods typically cause a rapid increase in blood sugar, which stimulates the production of large quantities of insulin. When there is too much insulin in the blood, the body reacts by producing the chemical somatostatin, which suppresses insulin release. In due time this natural response translates into diabetes. Compared with Caucasians, African Americans have a 60% higher risk of developing diabetes and Hispanics have a 90% increased risk. Considering the large number of undiagnosed diabetics, physicians are now losing more patients to diabetes than they are diagnosing.

An increasing number of American adults diagnosed with diabetes are obese, U.S. officials said in November 2004. A study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention found that between 1999 and 2002, 54.8 percent of diabetics over the age of 19 were obese. That compared with 45.7 percent in the same age group between 1988 and 1994. When the category was expanded to include diabetics who were obese or overweight, the percentage surged to 85.2 percent in 1999-2002 compared with 78.5 percent in the earlier period. About 69 million people are obese or severely obese, according to the American Obesity Association.

In the CDC study, a person was considered overweight if their body mass index (BMI) – the most commonly used method for calculating if a person weighs too much – was 25 to 29. Anyone with a body mass index of 30 or greater was categorized as obese. Using the body mass index to determine risk for diabetes is not completely reliable and can keep these numbers lower than they actually are. Taking averages in human statistic analysis always ends up distorting the true figures.

A balanced Vata type, for example has a naturally lower weight than average. According to the body mass index, Vatas are underweight. Their bones are much lighter and they have very little body fat on them. If a Vata type adds 25 pounds of body weight, it can cause him serious health problems, but according to the body mass index, this extra weight would bring him up to the normal range. Kapha types, on the other hand, have a very heavy body structure already. They cannot afford to add even 25 pounds without causing them to develop a typical Kapha disorder, such as diabetes, heart disease, or cancer.

By removing the discrepancies that exist with currently used body mass calculations, it is likely that almost every diabetic is overweight or obese. Likewise, a person who is overweight or obese can actually be considered diabetic, or at least insulin resistant. Due to the accumulation of abnormal amounts of new cells in the overweight person, there is simply not enough insulin available to meet all the nutrient demands of these extra cells. And although the pancreas may still make a normal or a little extra amount of insulin, the added weight leads to a relative insulin shortage. Eventually, the pancreas suffers from being continuously over-extended. The side-effects of a relative insulin-deficiency can be just the same as an absolute insulin-deficiency where pancreatic cells stop producing insulin altogether.

According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes accounts for 178,000 deaths (which may not be accurate), 54,000 amputees, and 12,000-24,000 cases of blindness annually. Blindness is 25 times more common among diabetic patients compared to non-diabetics. It is estimated that by the year 2010, diabetes will actually exceed both heart disease and cancer as the leading cause of death through its many complications. It is my hope that more and more scientists and doctors begin to see the strong link that exists between all these ‘diseases’. They are metabolic disorders that share a common cause, but show up as different symptoms.

——————————
This is an excerpt from my book DIABETES – NO MORE!