Risk factors for Type 2 Diabetes and how to prevent it.

Risk factors for type 2 diabetes

India is deemed as the world’s capital of diabetes. There are enormous risk factors for type 2 diabetes / diabetics which needs to be addressed appropriately.

“The diabetic population in the country is close to hitting the alarming mark of 69.9 million by 2025 and 80 million by 2030. This denotes that the developing country is expected to witness an increase of 266%. The statistics recently accumulated showcase that culture of diabetes is more prevalent in the urban areas as 28% of the population living in cities are affected, whereas 5% of the rural population are positive with diabetes mellitus.”

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6213704/

  1. BMI:  
    • Indians are unique! Lower BMI indicates as one of the risk factors for Type 2 Diabetes . We, in India may develop Type 2 diabetes at much younger age and at lower BMI. Body Mass Index (BMI) is an excellent indicator of the weight status of a person. It is defined as the weight in (kg) divided by height in m2. A healthy BMI for Indian adults is between 19 and 22. Diabetes is a common consequence of overweight and obesity in adults. Obesity itself is a strong risk factor.  
    • Fat percentage is generally accepted as a better gauge of fitness than weight. When in ideal shape, body fat will make up about 14% – 17% of a male’s body weight and 21% – 24% of a female’s. The remainder of the body’s weight is composed of water (55%-60%), muscle and other lean tissue (10%-20%), and bone and minerals (6%-8%).
  1. Waist to Hip Ratio: 
    • Research has shown that more than the weight of a person, it is the shape of the body which is important in determining risks for the development of many diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, lipid disorders, and atherosclerosis leading to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and stroke.  Research shows that people with “apple-shaped” bodies (with more weight around the waist) are at higher risk than those with “pear-shaped” bodies that is more weight around the hips.  
    • Waist-Hip Ratio (WHR) used along with BMI is better in predicting risk for many of the serious disorders such as diabetes,  high blood pressure etc.
    • Waist-Hip Ratio of more than 0.80 is high risk for women; more than 0.95 is high risk for men.  
    • Apple-shaped body is due to accumulation of more fat around the viscera.
    • Visceral Fat also called abdominal obesity or central obesity is well known to increase insulin resistance.
    • Several lines of evidence have suggested the role of visceral fat (VF) accumulation in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. Thus, VF excess has been associated with decreased glucose uptake by cells to insulin stimulation, reduced rate of free fatty acids (FFA) reesterification (therefore more FFA in the circulation), increased resistance of lipolysis to the inhibitory effect of insulin in both visceral and peripheral adipocytes
    • Measure waist at navel while standing relaxed, not pulling in your stomach.
    • Measure around hips, over the buttocks at the widest part of the buttocks.
    • Divide the waist measure by the hip measure; this gives waist hip ratio (WHR).
  1. Physical activity: 
    • Physical activity has an important role to play in diabetes treatment as in any weight management regimen. Regular exercise can increase the sensitivity of the body tissues to insulin by more than 30%.
    • Long hours of sweaty exercise are not required to keep blood sugar under control. Many studies suggest that walking briskly for a half hour every day reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 30 percent.
    • Physical activity helps to correct the associated lipid abnormalities, increases cardiovascular fitness as well.
  1. Yoga and Meditation:
    • Yoga or meditation will help overcome stressful situations: Stressful situations can release hormones that will raise blood sugar.
  1. Smoking and alcohol:  
    • Smoking and alcohol increase risk for insulin resistance, which often leads to diabetes.
    • In diabetics, it increases the risk of complications, which include heart disease, stroke and circulation problems.

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