Obesity and Diabetes Control

Why Do Obesity and Diabetes Often Go Together?

It is a well known fact that people who are overweight and become obese suffer from a serious health risk of generating type II diabetes. However, not many people know how this works and just assume that being overweight leads to developing this serious condition later on in life. While obesity is linked to diabetes, obesity and diabetes develop from a few solid risk factors that can be identified.

Overweight people must look at different causes other than weight when determining their personal risk for developing this condition. Other external factors that contribute to generating this disease in the body are family history, ethnicity, and age. Of these factors, family history is the biggest concern because it has been highlighted that people are genetically predisposed to developing diabetes.

However, if the risk factors are all in check column, a person is definitely in harm's way by becoming obese. Scientists have even isolated the problem that causes this affliction from developing. There is a little known protein stored in fat cells called, Pigment Epithelium-Deprived Factor or PEDF. PEDF is the main cause in developing type II diabetes later on in life.

PEDF is a protein based chemical found in the fat stores of the body. Having too many fat cells in the body causes an over production of this chemical in the anatomical system. When this chemical is too rampant in the blood flow, insulin does not get to the muscles and liver like it is supposed to. As a result of this the pancreas works harder to pump out more insulin to the desensitized muscles and liver.

When the pancreas becomes overworked, it eventually loses its potency. This will cause an overall lack of insulin in the body. Without this special chemical, the body does not get enough oxygen to extremities and people become shaky and light headed. This is why people lose limbs from type II diabetes because in effect, the lack of insulin can kill muscles found in the extremities first.

The link between obesity and diabetes can be summed up with a look into the chemical production centers in the human body. PEDF proteins that are released by having too many fat cells, slows the rate at which insulin gets to muscles. When this situation occurs the pancreas works on overdrive until it eventually loses its ability to do its job. This is the major cause of type II diabetes cases that are linked to unhealthy weight storage.

In an era of increasing rates of obesity and diabetes, just about everyone knows that one of the leading risk factors for diabetes is obesity. But many of us don't know why this is the case.

In simple terms obesity is linked to an increased risk of diabetes because as we gain weight we become ore resistant to the insulin we produce. In fact, as we lose weight we regain much of our lost insulin sensitivity. Our bodies start functioning better overall.

The link between diabetes and obesity then must have something to do with weight. What do people with a lot of weight typically have more of than people without a lot of weight? Primarily, obese people have more fat. So it is likely that the link between obesity and diabetes is found in the fatty tissue.