Obesity Causes Type 2 Diabetes

02.07.2009 | Author: FTS | Posted in Diabetes

What causes someone to develop type 2 diabetes? It is well-known that type 2 diabetes develops from insulin resistance, but what causes insulin resistance at the beginning?

Insulin is used in the body to “unlock” the cells so that blood sugar in the bloodstream can pass from the blood into the cells. The problem is not a lack of insulin but the inability in type 2 diabetics to use its unlocking properties. Insulin is also the main fat-building hormone. In type 2 diabetes the fat-building properties continue to function while the unlocking properties are impaired. So the daily battle for glucose control and weight control are battles in their war against their insulin resistance.

But what made them insulin resistant at the beginning?

Obesity is the number one factor (though not the only factor) for developing insulin resistance. It begins with the effect of obesity on the liver. Normally, the liver only produces glucose in the absence of food, such as in fasting. Recent research now seems to indicate that there is a second signal aside from the fasting response that activates glucose production from the liver.

This second signal or trigger is more active in obese people, even when they are not fasting. A high-fat diet also contributes to the activation of the signal. As obesity does not go away easily or quickly, the triggering factors become nearly constant over time. The production of glucose from the liver goes on continually. The constant production of glucose from the liver is a significant factor leading to insulin resistance.

Once again the news has its good side as well as a discouraging side. It may be discouraging to learn that being overweight is what triggered one’s development of diabetes.

On the other hand, the good news here is that most people can prevent or avoid developing type 2 diabetes by controlling their weight. Avoid obesity and you avoid developing the second signal that triggers the over-production of glucose from the liver that contributes to insulin resistance. A diet lower in fat, which may help control weight, also lowers the activation of the trigger signal.

There is also some good news left for type 2 diabetics. It is clear that people who have developed insulin resistance, though they cannot cure the disease, they can mitigate its most damaging effects by maintaining a healthy body weight.

This will reduce their insulin resistance and increase their blood sugar control. Maintaining a healthy weight should be emphasized in any treatment for type 2 diabetics who are overweight. Which is of course the battle they are engaged in every day, not only for the sake of their weight but their insulin resistance and blood sugar control.