By Tom Forrest
35 million people in the USA have Diabetes, 95% of these people have Type 2 Diabetes.
Besides my doctors and Dr. Google explaining that genetics is a major factor in type 2 diabetes, some articles put too much importance on weight loss.
Weight is important, however even if I lost 70 lbs., I would most likely still have to take insulin shots for the rest of my life.
The other factor that seems to be missing in the articles about Diabetes is that people are living much longer than they did even a few generations ago.
If people die at age 60, they may not have lived long enough to have type 2 diabetes. Now with people living to be 100 years old and being overweight, there is an increase in diabetes.
For unknown scientific reasons people of color are more likely to develop Type 2 Diabetes than white people.
Scientists are conducting research and learning more about the genetic factors of Type 2 Diabetes every day.
In type 2 diabetes, there are primarily two interrelated problems at work. Your pancreas does not produce enough insulin, and your cells respond poorly to insulin and take in less sugar. There is ongoing scientific research investigating type 2 diabetes, and hopefully in the future scientists can develop a cure for type 2 diabetes.
It is a good test for me to keep losing weight and see how it effects my Type 2 diabetes. It is possible if I lost enough weight I might not need insulin shots. I think this is a 2% chance.
If you have to take insulin shots you should accept the fact that you will most likely need to take insulin shots the rest of your life.
Age is also an important factor.
So, if there are 350 million people in the USA, and 74% of them are overweight, then why do they all not have diabetes?
About 74 percent of adults in the United States are overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That includes nearly 43 percent who are obese, meaning they have a body mass index (BMI) — a measurement of body fatness based on weight and height — of 30 or higher.
This fact alone proves how important genetics are.
It is good to lose weight and stay thin, however that does not guarantee that you will not become diabetic. Being thin does help your chances.
10% of people have type 2 diabetes, of those people, 11% are normal weight or thin.
So just in the USA 3,600,000 normal weight or thin people have type 2 Diabetes.
Some people are lucky and their genetics are very good. E.g. they can way 350 lbs., be 60 years old and still not get Type 2 Diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes occurs
when the body either stops producing enough insulin for its needs and or
becomes resistant
to the effect of insulin produced. Type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease
requiring lifestyle
management (diet and exercise) at all stages. Over time most people with type
2 diabetes will require oral drugs and or insulin.
Type 2 diabetes may remain undetected
for many years.
The relationship between obesity and type 2 diabetes.
There is a close association between obesity and type 2 diabetes. The likelihood and severity of type 2 diabetes are closely linked with body mass index (BMI).
There is a seven times greater risk of diabetes in obese people compared to people that maintain a healthy normal weight, with a threefold increase in risk for overweight people. Genetics is the reason why all people who are obese do not develop type 2 diabetes, and why not all people with type 2 diabetes are obese.
These facts I mention above, are correct for the entire world population, even in Asian countries where they consume more rice.
https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/can-you-reverse-type-2-diabetes
Notes to help Diabetics:
Glycemic Index
One important tool used to manage the diet for diabetics is the glycemic index.
It measures how quickly a given food causes your blood sugars to rise,
comparing it to the effect of pure glucose. A food with a low number, or
low GI, has less impact on your blood sugars than a food with a higher
number. For example, Mangos have a low GI of 51, well below that of tropical fruits such as pineapple or papaya. In other words, a
reasonable portion of mango, roughly a quarter of a fruit – is about
1/2 cup of cubed fruit, and will only have minimal impact on your blood
sugar.
