Dr. Gurbeer Singh Sehgal

Type 2 diabetes, the type of diabetes which is common in adults, is a disease of insulin resistance, a condition in which the body produces insulin but does not use it effectively. When people have insulin resistance, glucose builds up in the blood instead of being absorbed by the cells, leading to type 2 diabetes or prediabetes. Insulin resistance is associated with excess body weight and often gives rise to metabolic syndrome, also called insulin resistance syndrome, is a group of traits and medical conditions linked to overweight and obesity that puts people at risk for both CVD and type 2 diabetes.

Losing excess body weight,therefore helps people with diabetes and prediabetes in several ways

-Weight loss results in less insulin resistance in the body so that blood sugar is better controlled
-Weight loss also results in decreased blood pressure and better blood lipid profile thus reducing the heart risk
-Weight loss results in positive changes in mood and behavior and gives a sense of control over the disease

Therefore, the guidelines, by expert agencies in diabetes care, recommend that

-Overweight/obese people should try to lose weight and get their BMI< 23; this target is suitable for people with less burden of excess weight (BMI up to ~ 25)
-For people who are morbidly obese (BMI greater than 27.5 or more in people of Indian subcontinent), initial target is to lose 5-10% of body weight within six months to year
-Gradual weight loss is recommended, for which a moderate calorie restriction of 500 calories is advised, but in severely obese people a calorie restriction of up to 1000 calories
-The radically restrictive diets such as low carb, low fat, Atkins etc. have not been found to be superior for either weight loss or sugar/cholesterol control over other diets
-Adherence to the calorie restricted diet is single most important factor for weight loss maintenance
-Recommended level of exercise for all adults (150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity exercise and 2-3 sessions of resistance exercise/week) help in greater weight loss when combined with a dietary calorie restriction of 500 calorie/day. But, for exercise alone to produce weight loss, 225-400 minutes of moderate intensity exercise is needed
-Drugs or surgery for weight loss may help in people with higher BMI (greater than 27.5 for drugs and greater than 32.5 for weight loss surgery), if you fall in these groups, you should discuss the use of these measures with your doctor

Thus, if you are diabetic or prediabetic and are overweight, you should get into a weight loss program to reduce your health risk.

Fight diabetes.