Link between Diabetes and Obesity

Posted on March 4, 2008 in Latest News

Diabetes is a disorder in which the body’s cells fail to take up glucose from the blood. Tissues waste away as glucose-starved cells are forced to consume their own proteins. Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, blindness, and amputation in adults.

The links between type 2 diabetes and obesity are firmly established. Without the intervention of a healthy diet and appropriate exercise, obesity may develop into diabetes over a relatively short period of time.

With 61% of the U.S. adult population considered overweight or obese, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has released a new practical guide to help doctors treat their overweight patients. In connection with this, it recommends that weight loss lowers elevated blood glucose levels in overweight and obese persons with type 2 diabetes.

In preparing a new practical guide to help doctors treat their obese and overweight patients, the panel reviewed relevant treatment strategies designed for weight loss. Their recommendations emphasize the potential effectiveness of weight control using multiple interventions and strategies, including:

Dietary therapy — A low calorie diet — with a deficit of 500 to 1000 calories/day — is recommended for weight loss.

Physical activity — Individuals should start moderate activity for 30-45 minutes, 3 — 5 days/week, and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate physical activity on most, and preferably all, days.

Behavior therapy — This is a useful adjunct when incorporated into treatment for weight loss and weight maintenance. Pharmacotherapy — Using FDA-approved weight loss medications, in combination with diet and physical activity, results in weight loss when used for 6 months to a year.

Weight loss surgery is an option for carefully selected patients with clinically severe obesity when less invasive methods of weight loss have failed and the patient is at high risk for obesity-associated illness or death.

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