Obesity increases diabetes risk

People who are extremely obese at the age of 18 years are more likely to develop type-2 diabetes at some point in life.Body mass index (BMI) is a ratio of height to weight that is commonly used to determine if a person is overweight or underweight. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal weight, while a BMI of 30 or greater is obese. Among 18-year-old people who were extremely obese, with BMI higher than 35, the odds of developing diabetes were 70 per cent for men and 74 per cent for women. Researchers from the Emory University in Atlanta used data from an ongoing health survey, which showed that, on an average, obese 18-year-old men had a 50 per cent lifetime risk of developing diabetes, while obese women had a 57 per cent risk. The study also showed that substantial diabetes risk is not limited to the heaviest young adults. Eighteen-year-olds who were merely overweight had a 30–35 per cent lifetime risk of diabetes. Similarly, obese 45 year olds had a 46– 63 per cent chance of developing diabetes. The impact of BMI on diabetes duration decreases with age. Thus, the major concern is the high diabetes risk among overweight young people because they may develop the disease at an early age. This, in turn, increases the risk of diabetes complications like heart disease and kidney failure. Therefore, it is important to prevent weight gain at a young age. For young adults who are already obese, the findings underscore the importance of lifestyle changes. They should talk to their doctors about healthy ways to shed weight. Losing even modest amounts of weight can help lower diabetes risk.