Diabetes Awareness Month 2016
You're more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if you're overweight or obese with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more. According to Dr Anil Bhoraskar, leading diabetologist, ‘Thin fat Indians’ who have low BMI but have most of the fat accumulated around the tummy are particularly at risk.
According to the Lancet study, China, India and USA are among the top three countries with a high number of diabetic population. While the numbers climbed from 20.4 million in China in 1980 to 102.9 million in 2014, the rise has been equally dramatic in India from 11.9 million in 1980 to 64.5 million in India. Prevalence of diabetes has more than doubled for men in India and China.
What is the prevalence rate of diabetes in India?
The prevalence of diabetes in urban and rural areas is approximately 10% and 8 % respectively.
What are the leading risk factors for developing Type 2 diabetes among adults?
The leading risk factors are obesity brought about by faulty nutrition from childhood and wrong lifestyle such as lack of physical exercise, too much of computer and TV, fast and junk food, energy dense drinks and high intake of omega 6 fatty acids. These are environmental factors.
Additionally, the other cause which is very important is genetic and ethnic susceptibility.
The rapid increase in the occurrence of diabetes is mostly attributed to the growing prevalence of obesity in India. What is the connection between obesity and diabetes?
Obesity leads initially to over production of insulin which also contributes to insulin resistance. This overproduction leads to exhaustion of insulin and the patient becomes insulin deficient leading to diabetes.
Is the influence of obesity on diabetes risk determined only by the degree of obesity or also by where fat accumulates?
Indians are called as “thin fat Indians” as their BMI may not exceed 21 but most of the fat is accumulated around the waist, which is a bad fat. It is white fat not brown. Brown fat is healthy. It is seen in babies and is this colour due to abundant number of mitochondria, which are power houses of the cells and produce energy while the white fat is really bad weight and produces only harmful substances. Therefore, abdominal or visceral fat is considered as a major risk factor.
How does abdomen fat disrupt normal metabolism?
Abdominal fat, which is very close to portal circulation (circulation of blood to the liver through the portal vein), pumps free fatty acids to the liver which causes disruption of metabolism and elevates serum triglycerides which is a strong risk factor for causing coronary artery damage.
Does any reduction in diabetes follow reduction of body weight?
Yes, even a small reduction in body weight of say 5% not only reduces blood sugar but also controls hypertension and abnormal lipids.
Can obesity management delay progression of diabetes?
Yes
Related Reading: 11 tips on how to reduce weight
What lifestyle interventions do you advise to achieve durable weight loss?
- Control calories
- Avoid simple sugars and refined carbohydrate
- Change dietary fats to more healthy variety such as fats with low Omega 6 to high Omega 3 ratio
- Increase physical activity
- Stay away from stress
Related Reading: Diabetes is 80% dependent on lifestyle
Dr Anil Bhoraskar, MD Diabetologist – Raheja Hospital, Asian Heart Institute, Asian Cancer Institute, Mumbai Chair South East Region of International Diabetes Federation.
