Being overweight may be major risk factor for diabetes, study claims

Being overweight can be the most important factor in the development of diabetes, and losing weight can prevent the disease or even reverse its development, said scientists from the University of Cambridge and the University of Milan.

Their study, the results of which were presented at the Congress of the European Society of Cardiology, is reported in a press release on EurekAlert!.

The specialists analyzed the data of 445,765 people (average age - 57.2 years) who took part in the UK Biobank study, which was devoted to genetic predisposition and the impact of the environment on the development of various diseases.

The risk of developing type 2 diabetes was estimated based on the contribution of 69 million genes, as well as body mass index (BMI). All participants were divided into 5 groups depending on genetic risk and 5 groups depending on the risk determined by body weight.

The volunteers were followed for several years until the average age reached 65.2 years. During this period, 31,298 people developed type 2 diabetes. The people with the highest BMI (34.5) had 11 times the risk of the disease compared to those in the group with the lowest BMI (21.7 on average). This correlation persisted regardless of genetic predisposition, so bodyweight turned out to be a more powerful factor in the development of diabetes than genetic predisposition.

According to the authors of the study, the results show that most cases of diabetes can be avoided by keeping BMI within the normal range. They advise regularly assessing your weight-to-height ratio and blood glucose levels.

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