Obesity Takes Years Off Diabetics' Lives

Obesity can reduce the life expectancy of diabetes patients by up to eight years, British researchers said.

Professor Ross Lawrenson of the University of Surrey in Guildford, southern England said a high body mass index (BMI), the standard measure for calculating obesity, is a leading risk factor for people suffering from diabetes.

"Obese people with diabetes have decreased life expectancy and increased mortality," Lawrenson said in an interview.

Increased risk of death has been shown before, but the eight-year figure is relatively new, he added.

The research, which was presented at the Diabetes UK medical conference in Birmingham, England, also showed people with diabetes have double the risk of dying.

BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters squared. A BMI of more than 30 is considered obese. More than 35 is severely obese.

Lawrenson and his colleagues used a government research database to study 44,188 patients with Type 2, or adult onset, diabetes. Excess weight is the most common and avoidable risk factor for Type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes develops when the body becomes less sensitive to the effects of insulin as weight increases. To compensate, the pancreas produces more insulin which then causes insulin resistance.

Sufferers with Type 1 diabetes produce little or no insulin. It is more common in children and adolescents and accounts for 10-15 percent of cases.

The researchers found that the average age of death for Type 2 sufferers with a BMI of 35 or more was 70 years old while patients with a BMI of 20-24 was 78 years old.

Medical experts say a five to 10 percent weight loss can reduce the risk of diabetes and other related illnesses such as macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly, leg ulcers and high cholesterol.

There is no cure for diabetes but it can be controlled through diet and exercise, oral medication or insulin injections.

"Eighty percent of people are overweight when they are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes so this research is very worrying. It is essential that people with diabetes manage their weight so they can help to reduce their risk of serious complications such as heart attack and stroke," Benet Middleton, the chief executive of the charity Diabetes UK, said in a statement.

"Obesity is taking years off people's lives."

Reference Source 89

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