Weight and type 2 diabetes: 11 things you must know
1. What’s diabetes?
The hormone insulin helps our body create energy from glucose. When a person has diabetes, their body is unable to process insulin properly. This results in too much glucose in their blood.1 This can have several serious knock-on effects, such as problems with the heart, kidneys, eyes, feet and nerves.2
2. What’s the connection between weight and type 2 diabetes?
Carrying excess weight, especially when this is stored around the waist, increases a person’s chance of developing type 2 diabetes. Excess body fat acts as a barrier to insulin, which is linked to insulin resistance and high blood glucose levels.3
3. How can I know if I’m at risk?
Weight is not the only contributing factor to type 2 diabetes. Others include your family history, age, ethnicity, activity level, blood pressure and being a smoker. You can estimate your risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the next five years here, by answering a few questions about your health.
4. Will I definitely get diabetes if I’m overweight?
No, it’s not that simple. The important thing to remember is that being overweight or obese is an identified risk factor. A person whose weight is healthy could still develop type 2 diabetes. However, it’s still important to manage risk.
5. What can I do to decrease my risk of type 2 diabetes?
Keeping a healthy weight will go a long way to decreasing your risk – and there’s a lot you can do to do that!
Tried and true advice still stands:
- Eating a diet high in fibre, fresh fruit and vegetables and lean animal or plant-based protein
- Reducing your sedentary hours
- Mixing cardiovascular activity (walking, swimming, exercise bike, gym class) with strength and flexibility training (hand weights, machine weights, pilates, yoga) and incidental exercise (such as taking the stairs, doing housework or walking around the shopping centre as you do your chores)
- Limiting your alcohol intake
- Quitting smoking
6. How do I know if my weight is healthy?
Not sure if your weight is in the healthy range for your height? You can get an idea by:
- Calculating your BMI – this is a scale from 18.5 (underweight) to 30+ (obese)
- Measuring your waist – a result of 80cm+ for women or 94cm+ for men can indicate increased risk of illness
Remember, both systems can be affected by ethnicity, age, pregnancy, medical complications and other contributing factors. For more personalised advice, talk to your GP or diabetes educator.
7. I’m overweight. Do I have to lose a lot?
The good news is that weight loss doesn’t have to be drastic. In fact, a loss of just 5-10% of total bodyweight helps prevent type 2 diabetes in nearly 60% of people.4 Aim to do this with the future in mind, losing around 1 kg / 4 weeks by making healthy lifestyle and diet changes.
8. I’ve heard proteins are essential for weight management
Proteins are an essential nutrient and help create lean muscle, alleviate hunger for longer and have links to increased metabolism.5 Remember: eating protein alone won’t build muscles though when combined with strength training, does help. Pro tip: rather than eating all your daily protein at once, try to include some at each meal. This boosts your body’s ability to use protein to increase muscle mass.6
9. Are very high protein diets the answer?
Actually, no. Very high protein diets can affect the kidneys and liver,7 create undesirable changes to bowel habits and deficiencies in nutrients found in fresh produce and healthy fats.
Our protein needs change during adolescence, pregnancy and other life stages. Look at the Australian Dietary Guidelines to find out how much protein is right for your stage of life.
10. I’ve heard carbs are bad, is that true?
Carbs are not “bad”. In fact, our body needs them to work correctly, as they are its main fuel source. For weight management and diabetes, keep the glycaemic index (GI) in mind. The GI helps us understand how carbohydrates are broken down into glucose and used by our cells for energy.
Low GI carbs such as wholegrain breads, sweet potato, soy, beans, lentils, most fresh fruit, milk, pasta and rolled oats enter the bloodstream more slowly.
High GI carbs such as white bread, potatoes and short-grain rice break down into sugars and enter the bloodstream more quickly.
A person with type 2 diabetes benefits from consuming a diet rich in low GI carbohydrates that are high in fibre.8,9
11. I have type 2 diabetes. What should I know about exercise?
Being active helps the insulin your body makes work better10 and helps use more glucose from our blood, reducing our levels overall. This is because, we are physically active, the muscles are sensitised to the insulin that is already in our body already – incredibly, this affect can last for up to 24 hours.11
Even if there is no weight loss, remember that regular activity helps strengthen our muscles and bones, reduce cholesterol levels, increase cardiac health and mental wellbeing.