Obesity means an accumulation of fat in the human body above normal. When this concentration of fat is increased and located in the abdomen, intestines and especially in the liver, a condition is favoured in which the insulin (the hormone that regulates sugar) produced by the body does not «work well», as the increased fat in the body causes insulin resistance.
That is, when this happens, the body initially produces more insulin and manages to regulate the blood sugar. However, over time this ability falls away, insulin production decreases, and then diabetes mellitus occurs. Practically, this means that even a little belly is not a «charm», but rather, it is a major health problem and should be treated as such.
«It is now documented that obesity is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus», says Mr. Efthimios Kapandais, Pathologist with specialization in Diabetes Mellitus, Director of the Department of Diabetes - Obesity - Metabolism of the Metropolitan Hospital, who answers the important question that concerns a large number of patients: How are obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus linked?;
Coexistence of obesity and diabetes mellitus
«In addition to causing type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity also has consequences when it coexists with it. How does this happen? The two biggest risks for a diabetic person (without being obese) are cardiovascular disease and cancer. In fact, usually the diabetic person has a cardiovascular disease or is «close» to developing cancer.
When the diabetic person, who is already at risk, becomes or remains obese, his or her condition is further aggravated. Obesity, when it coexists with type 2 diabetes mellitus, besides making it more difficult to regulate, aggravates arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia and other metabolic problems, but also multiplies the already increased risk of cardiovascular events and cancers,» the expert points out.
Weight loss and diabetes
Given the link between obesity and diabetes (and obesity and poor health in general), the first step that a diabetic person (and anyone who wants to improve their health) should take is to lose weight. Losing weight is good for the health of everyone who has a body weight above normal.
«Especially for diabetic people, it has been found that weight loss brings about a reduction in blood sugar levels, a reduction in diabetes symptoms, if any, helps to control arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia, even reducing the amount of medication the patient is taking and, very importantly, if this loss is over 15% of their original weight, their diabetes can go into remission, i.e. they can have normal blood sugar levels without taking any medication.
In addition to all of the above, in the case of significant weight loss, the diabetic person's life expectancy can be up to 9 years longer. Therefore, the therapeutic strategy for the treatment of type 2 diabetes should always include weight loss, because it means better quality and longer life for the diabetic person,» concludes Mr Kapantais.
