DALLAS, February 10, 2021 – Obesity reduction could prevent up to half of new Type 2 diabetes cases in the United States, according to a new study published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association. Obesity is a major contributor to diabetes, and the new study suggests that more specific efforts are needed to reduce obesity-related diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes, affecting more than 31 million Americans, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention[1]. Risk factors for Type 2 diabetes include being obese or obese; be over 45; if a close family member is diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes; be physically active less than 3 times a week; or a history of gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy). Type 2 diabetes is more common in people who are black, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian, Native Alaska, Pacific Islander or Asian American.
The number of deaths due to Type 2 diabetes in people under 65 is increasing along with the real complications of the condition, including amputations and hospitalization. In addition, Type 2 diabetes affects heart disease and stroke risk: adults with Type 2 diabetes are twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke than people without diabetes. the sugar.
Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed by healthy lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, eating a healthy diet and being physically active. According to the National Diabetes Prevention Program, behavioral changes have been shown to help people with prediabetes lose 5% – 7% of their body weight and reduce their risk of developing diabetes. type 2 diabetes by 58% (71% for people over 60). Researchers studied the incidence and over-risk of Type 2 diabetes associated with obesity.
“Our study highlights the significant impact that reducing obesity can have on the prevention of Type 2 diabetes in the United States. Reducing obesity must be a priority. Public health efforts that support healthy lifestyles, such as increasing access to nutritious food, encouraging physical activity and developing community programs to prevent obesity, could be new issues of greatly reduced Type 2 diabetes, ”said study lead author Natalie A. Cameron, MD, a resident physician of internal medicine at Northwestern University’s McGaw Medical Center in Chicago.
Researchers used information from the Multidisciplinary Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) and four aggregated cycles (2001–2016) of the Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). MESA is an ongoing, long-term study of people ages 45 to 84 who did not have cardiovascular disease employed. MESA data included in this study were collected during five visits from 2000 to 2017 at six centers across the U.S. NHANES is a biennial cross-sectional study of the American population that takes place every two years. using patient questionnaires and survey data.
For this analysis, the authors sent limited data to 45- to 79-year-old participants. They included only those who were non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic Black or Mexican American and did not have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes at the beginning of the study. Researchers measured both the frequency of obesity and the risk of obesity for obesity-related Type 2 diabetes.
The findings of the study include:
- Among NHANES participants, the incidence of obesity increased from 34% to 41% and was consistently higher among adults with Type 2 diabetes.
- Among MESA partners
- about 1 in 10 (11.6%) develop Type 2 diabetes after nine years.
- Obese people were nearly three times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes compared to those without obesity (20% vs. 7.3%, respectively).
- In each MESA and NHANES group:
- Obesity was associated with the development of Type 2 diabetes in 30 – 53% of cases.
- a larger proportion of obese participants had an annual household income of less than $ 50,000, and were more likely to be non-Hispanic Black or Mexican American.
- The incidence of obesity was lowest among non-Hispanic white women, however, this group received the highest Type 2 diabetes associated with obesity.
“Our study confirms that obesity is higher among non-Hispanic black adults and Mexican-American adults compared to non-Hispanic white adults. We suspect that these differences could be important social indicators of health that contribute to new cases of Type 2 diabetes as well as obesity, ”says Cameron.
“Furthermore, obesity has counteracted COVID-19 pandemic disease,” says Sadiya S. Khan, MD, M.Sc., senior author of the study and associate professor of medicine and immunotherapy at the School Feinberg Medicine at Northwestern University. “There is greater concern about COVID-19 infection in obese people due to the burden of adverse health effects they may see in the coming years; therefore, more efforts are needed to help more adults adopt healthier lifestyles and hopefully reduce obesity. ”
This analysis included only middle-aged to older adults without cardiovascular disease who were white non-Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black or Mexican-American, so the results may not be general for the U.S. population. all. Future research is needed to assess the obesity burden on new cases of Type 2 diabetes in other age groups and ethnic and ethnic groups.
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Co-authors are Lucia C. Petito, Ph.D .; Megan McCabe, MS; Norrina B. Allen, Ph.D., MPH; Mata J. O’Brien, MD; and Mercedes R. Carnethon, Ph.D., FAHA.
This research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood and the National Center for the Advancement of Translational Sciences at the National Institutes of Health, and the American Heart Association.
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