The risk of diabetes increases with the body mass index
Obesity is one of the biggest risk factors for type 2 diabetes. The weight from which it becomes critical, however, varies greatly from region to region, as a new study shows. According to this, southern countries in particular differ from the industrialized nations. Obesity and diabetes are increasing almost everywhere in the world
Obesity and diabetes are increasing almost everywhere in the world
A person with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 kg / m2 or more is considered overweight. Since obesity is one of the biggest risk factors for type 2 diabetes, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends appropriate preventive examinations for people aged 40 and over from this BMI.
An international study now shows that these values could be set too high. On average, residents of the 57 countries examined had an increased risk of diabetes from a BMI of 23 kg / m2. In addition, the incidence rate rose sharply in the 35 to 44-year-old age group, and in men from sub-Saharan Africa even as early as 25 years of age. Data from 57 countries evaluated
In the current evaluation of health data, the researchers also found large regional differences in terms of the point at which obesity is associated with an increased risk of diabetes. “Countries in the global south in particular differ significantly from the industrialized nations previously accepted as the standard,” write the authors from Heidelberg University Hospital and the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston in a press release.
According to the researchers, the value above which diabetes screening would make sense fluctuated between the regions and the sexes between 23.8 kg / m2 for men in East and Southeast Asia and 28.3 kg / m2 for women from Central Asia and North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean countries.
Customize diabetes screening
The results published in the specialist magazine “The Lancet” can now be used by the respective countries to adapt their diabetes screening. “Especially in countries with limited resources, the data can now be used to address people with an increased risk of diabetes in a more targeted manner than before, reducing consequential damage, especially in young people affected, and relieving the burden on the health system,” says first author Felix Teufel, doctoral student at the Heidelberg Institute for Global Health.
Experts give tips for diabetics. Before removing the pump, you must measure your blood sugar level.
Fat cells become resistant to insulin for the study, scientists from 57 countries, led by the Universities of Heidelberg and Massachusetts, evaluated the data from more than 680,000 people. In addition to weight and height, the data sets also included diabetes biomarkers such as blood sugar levels or HbA1c values. The latter provides information about the course of blood sugar levels in the past few weeks. The fact that being overweight increases the risk of type 2 diabetes is due to the fact that fat cells are less sensitive to insulin. With increasing pounds, the insulin resistance increases, which increases the blood sugar level permanently.