The recent sharp rise of Type 2 diabetes in our population in tandem with obesity seems to suggest that it is not a condition over which lifestyle choices have no bearing. There is no doubt an environmental trigger for Type 1 diabetes too, probably several of them really, but those have not been clearly identified as obesity has for Type 2. A search of Google and PubMed will illustrate this fact through many peer-reviewed studies in reputable medical and science journals.
One reason Type 1s get a “break” from criticism is that so many of us are afflicted by the disease as “innocent” children (I was 18) and upon diagnosis, look rather gaunt. Most Type 2s are first diagnosed as adults close to middle age, and are usually overweight. When an adult we know gets cancer, we often speculate as to how their life choices led them to that unfortunate result. When a child gets cancer that sort of speculation just doesn’t exist. It is, partly, a matter of perception and social conditioning.
If you have Type 2 genes then it is a good idea to keep a careful eye on your diet and physical condition, just like it is wise to avoid over-consumption of alcohol if you have alcoholism in your DNA. Guilt really serves no purpose and you should reject it and any attempt by someone else to thrust it upon you. Just treat your body right and don’t waste time feeling guilty over choices you made in the past that may or may not have led you to today. Learn from your mistakes and move on.
I believe as Jenny Ruhl does… that the insulin resistance came first, for these folks, and provoked the weight gain. I was always, always a thin child. I was never one to eat very much, at all… and since I was so thin, my parents would argue with me at dinner time to eat more… and would force multivitamins on me. One day, all of a sudden, I just started gaining weight… even eating the same things I had always eaten… I gained about as much as 60 lbs in a space of 1-2 months. You can clearly see it in my school pictures. But my parents never took me to the doctor, they never researched what was going in… they just now started blaming me for overeating – which I was not! What I didn’t know was that I had started developing a host of problems, such as Hypothyroidism, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and Insulin Resistance. I have tried dieting all my life, with the high carb, low fat diets… and they NEVER worked. Never. Very restrictive, a lot more than a carb restricted diet… and with very little progress, even over long spaces of time. So it would be a war between my mother and I… blaming me for my weight gain, and me not being able to do much about it because I had no other knowledge… High carb does NOT work for Insulin Resistance. I only got diagnosed at 15 with one, and 16 with the other… and had no knowledge of how to fix it… and spent already 8 years fighting obesity. I know this is a similar thing that is happening to other Americans… Many of them, if not most, share a similar history as mine. This epidemic started once the FDA started recommending everyone have a high carb, low fat diet… Healthy folks may do okay with a small to moderate amount of carbs… but I don’t think anyone with this pre-disposition to Diabetes would ever do well, long term, with high carbs… It has been noted and even recognized by many, many nutritional experts… that this all started when the ‘high carb’ thing got suggested. Lots of people gained boatloads of weight, and here we are.
Bravo Grant. I even get arguments here on TuD when I suggest that weight gain is a result of as you put it “the proclivity to type 2.” Without that, I know that, the way I have always eaten carefully and exercised, I would not have gained so much weight and I would not have Type 2. Thanks.
And bravo to you too, Lizmari. I totally agree and my life story is similar, though I didn’t start gaining weight till my 30s and don’t have the PCOS and hypothyroidism. What a lot of things to bear! But I think the main reason I stopped posting to this forum for the most part was that I had learned, and totally believed, that the weight gain that came upon me in mid-life, despite careful eating and exercise, was NOT something I could have controlled, though I tried using every method possible for years, and that it arose from the insulin resistance that was occurring in my body. But I got sick of reading, even here, in this “support” forum, that this was a lie, that I was just lazy and gluttonous and got fat and thus gave myself diabetes. I am so relieved to read these posts and not feel so alone with what I have found to be true.
Lipotoxicity by way of cytokine release from fat tissue is well-established as a cause for insulin resistance. There is no science I am aware of that suggests it is insulin resistance that first appears and then causes the obesity, although I think there is reason to believe that obesity and insulin resistance, once established, can perpetuate themselves. There is a very good explanation of the various mechanisms at play here:
It is dangerous to believe things that aren’t true, no matter how nice they sound, if they lead us to behave in a manner that is harmful. There is no reason to feel guilty about having Type 2 diabetes though. There is a genetic defect in your metabolism that gives you much less leeway with your diet and lifestyle choices than someone without the Type 2 genes. That isn’t your fault.
Oh, there is, too! I have read several studies that suggest that the insulin resistance is brought on by metabolism issues, and not just fat on your belly, and that insulin resistance causes weight gain, despite best efforts for losing any of it, and exercise. It is even mentioned in Manny’s video for “finding common ground.” I believe that that was the case for me… And that it is the case for many. I don’t believe it because it ‘sounds nice.’ I believe it because it is true. Insulin resistance leads to higher amounts of insulin int he body, which leads to weight gain.
While I am not going to deny that some people have huge, out of control eating habits… which can lead them to having issues with insulin resistance, many like myself, were THIN to being with… I was basically skin and bones, as a child… I had no belly fat, to speak of… You just simply cannot tell me I got fat from my diet. That same study you posted… says in the very first paragraph that there is very little known about insulin resistance, and that insulin resistance can cause obesity.
You’re welcome, Ellie… It is so easy for others who are thin, and not experiencing this themselves to simply make judgements based on the little information that is out there, right now… Unless it happens to themselves. I know my metabolism is seriously impaired, and provoked my insulin resistance. 5 year old kids don’t eat that much, and they only eat what they are given… and back then, I didn’t have a lot of video games, and a lot of access to tv time all day long… lol I was outside, all day… a tomboy, with a BMX bike, all day long, riding… exercising… I was skin and bones. Stuff just happens, sometimes. You should see my sister! She is less active than me, eats about 10 times a day, and weighs 95 lbs! lol (She’s 4’11.)
I guess I am the flip side of the coin. I believe that I caused the problems that I have today 100%. I may have the markers or predesposition for Type 2 but it was my lifestyle that caused the problem. If would of know that I had the markers then I would have done something different in my lifestyle. My family has a predespotion for alcoholism. The day I found out that , I cut my drinking by 95% since I knew I could wind up an alcoholic if I did not watch out.
Now you wonder why I am so harsh on myself. The reason I believe that I helped to awaken diabetes is that when i stopped all the behaviours that I used to do like over eating, not excercising, working a high stress job, not getting enough sleep my bg’s started to normalize. I was put on lantus and humalog for a year and after that year I stopped using insulin and was in no meds. I took off three months from work and excercised like no ones business. I ate all the right foods and counted every calorie that went into my body. When my caloric intake became less than what I was burning during excercise I started to drop the weight. When I went from 220 to 156 my bg’s started to come under control and started to look like normal numbers.
Three years after stopping insulin I resumed the bad behaviours and numbers started creeeping up again and I was put on 2000 mg metformin. Two years into metformin I started to excercise, eat right lose weight and metformin levels went back down again. So in my case I have to believe that my behaviour is causing problems for me and that can be managed.
I believe that some factors can help to controll diabetes but they require a lot of work both financially and time wise. As far as someone judging me and my lifestyle I welcome anyday. Because unless s super model us judging me I dont think most people have room to talk. I accept my situation and know that it is true that lifestyle changes can help out a lot. I am a product of lifestyle changes. I like to come up with solutions and I would think there has to be some basis for what they are saying about controlling diabetes since I have managed to do it in the past. I am not the ideal weight but I am going to work my harderst to get there and see what happens. Acceptance of my behaviours also helped me to get rid of any type of guilt that I used to feel. Now I work towards a solution because if there is a possiblity that I may live longer with some changes I am going to try it.
“Our study helps to explain why obese people have a stronger tendency to become diabetic. When ER stress signaling is abnormal glucose output is actually increased”
Can you point me to a study that says there is no link between the two? I have been looking for one for quite some time and I am not able to find any that negates the link between obesity and diabetes. I found more studies linking obesity to diabetes than not linking it from independent parties.
I know that just because a person is obese they may not get diabetes, but if you could find a marker in the body while you are thin and young then you could prevent it by not over eating and excercising regularly.
The reason I am so hesitant to not dismiss any study is because I have a son. I know the gene or trigger is in me. I will not let him become obese not now and not later. I teach him to excercise every day and eat right. If i can prevent him from bad behaviour that could trigger the type 2 then I will do everything in my power to do so.
Now obesity is a factor in the whole chain and if you could eliminate a factor in the chain therefore you reduce risk and stop the trigger from being pulled.
I agree with you on this one. I am a type 2 and I think i did have some hand on what happened to me. Now I have two choices I can wine and moan about how I got to this spot and feel sorry for myself or I can pick myself up by the boot straps and start doing something about it. I chose to live and do something about it. I cant change the past but I can learn from it. If I bury my head in the sand then I cant tackle the problem and therefore not try to solve it. If I have a chance to reduce or slow down the big D then I will do it. I dont feel guilty and other people dont make me feel guilty. I never really cared about what people say if its negative. I was overweight when I was diagnosed. I accepted it and started to do something about it. I cant help that I have the diabetes trigger gene in me but I can help what I put in my mouth and how much i excercise. The way I see it not excercising is like a type 1 not wanting to take insulin. I think that is how critical excercise is to managing type 2.
So this would be a part of the diabetes population but not all of them. So you cant group all diabetics together just like I cant group you with me becasue I seem to respond very good to weight loss. Since I respond well to weight loss then I must assume that I dont have metabolism issues correct?
I’m a type one diabetic but I could understand why any diabetic would feel guilty but that has alot to do with the heap of misconceptions that are brought forward from the ignorant media, by bundling all types of diabetes into one group, saying that type 2 is preventable, yadda yadda the list goes on
It’s true that some cases of type 2 are caused from being overweight and other ‘preventable’ causes but you should never feel guilty! Because you know "■■■■ happens"
If we dwell on things we could have changed, things we should have avoided and things we should have done in the past we’ll never move on. You just have to focus on the present and figure out the best way to live with your situation and move forward. People that know about diabetes don’t blame you for having it, so why should you blame yourself?
Guilty, no. Angry as “H”, you bet. Those are statements made by people who have no clue as to what being a type i or II diabetic is. It is just plain stupid. To all the vets, please excuse my analogy…but saying that it is my fault is like saying a veteran lost his / her leg because it was their fault the IED was planted in the ground where they could step on it, and blow their leg off. Come on! If you believe any of this, I think that you need a serious check…no one ever walked into a store and asked for diabetes of any kind…
No, you would we be wrong. Metabolic Issues do not mean you are not responding well to weight loss… they mean it makes losing weight a difficult, nearly impossible, task to do, and people usually have to go moderate, to very low carb, to have any success… And yes, as soon as the issues with the weight, and the carb control, are taken care of, things improve. I am not trying to lump all Diabetics in the same bag… But I am sick and tired of people trying to dump every Diabetic in the “You did this to yourself, you are fat, and it’s all your fault” bag. I would venture most Type 2 Diabetics have similar to same issues as myself, but the research is only slowly starting to come out… because they have overfocused so much on just the issue of being overweight. Quite frankly, the attitude of some the comments from people trying to push others around who either happen to have the triage genes that cause insulin resistance, metabolism impairment, and obesity, that may click on at any time, for any reason… conspiring to make it hard for anyone to keep a healthy weight, or even makes them gain a lot of weight quite suddenly, is starting to sicken me… If you want to live in a world where you blame yourself every day, go for it… But you can be there by yourself. Life just happens sometimes – you don’t need to be finding guilt to assign everywhere.
That is like saying everyone who smokes will die of cancer or heart disease! Grampa smoked since he was 11 yrs old-no cancer, no heart problems…just died of old age at 87.
My mom is border-line type 2-always slim-probably needs to gain some weight-never “obese”, my nana was type 2 for 25 yrs and always weighed about 95 -105lbs, her mom was 120lbs and blind from diabetes, & great grampa on the other side was always a slim man. My cousins too…
So, although weight maybe a risk factor, I do not think of weight as an absolute factor for this disease.
It is more likely I have it due to family history.
i agree, no one deserves diabetes of any type! i’m a type 1 but i have friends and family members and the majority are not heavy, in fact one cousin is 5’7" and weighs 144 with type 2. my endo says it’s not all about obesity. i have a cousin living in germany (the yummiest food!) she is 5’11" and weighs around 400. she has always been a big girl even when we were kids, she is still quite heavy and her blood sugar highs are around 110. so go figure. i was worried about her because she was having knee surgery and the doctor checked her for diabetes and her A1c was 5-6 and blood sugar was 93 after she had eaten. it amazed me. i checked her periodically when she visited last may and she was anywhere from 80-110. and this is a big girl, size 4x-5x tops and 26-28 pants. so NO, it is not just heavy people. once again, heavy or not, no one deserves diabetes. everyone take good care juliet.
I don’t this article is very smart or up-to-date. Let me say that I haven’t read it yet but there is no way that being overweight and diet is the only cause. I just found out I have diabetes and I am a toothpick! So this article proves squat! But yes, lots of people get T2 happen to fall into that category of being overweight having poor diet - I have two cousins around my age who just found out they have type 2 too - they are both over weight and had poor eating habits. I had relatively good eating habits (vegan but too much white flour, pasta etc), not enough exercise and stress) and now I have it. So being over weight doesn’t necessary cause it - there is hereditary factors too and I am living proof of it. It is sad though when a doctor ends up with a skinny diabetic patient they don’t know what to do with you. They go off the reading etc and just figure you as Type 2 even though they are puzzled of how you got that way (except genes). They have much more experience with the overweight T2’s and giving them guidance. I have gotten no guidance from my doctor and what to do (or should I say ex-doctor!) and it has been very hard on me. Even though I am a Type 2 I still feel like a minority in a way - I don’t need to lose weight (although everyone could use more exercise for the most part and I am working on that) - the doctor does know what else to tell me! So I feel a bit felt out there in a way. There should a special T2S section of something! So don’t feel guilty, there are so many factors that come into play here and I don’t even think medical science has scratched the surface yet!
Hello, I am a Type 2 Diabetic. I take ownership of my Diabetes because it is apart of me now.
I have to admit that I do. In some respects I do feel it was partially my fault that I have diabetes. I had the Wonder Woman syndrome that most career women have. I thought I could go to school full time, be moderately overweight, work a night shift job and overtime, eat and drink with consequence, little to no exercise, poor sleeping habits etc… I think if I had cared more about myself and not thinking that I was invincible I would have stopped some of these bad habits.
I know some people will say there are genetic, ethnicity, age or enviromental factors may have triggered a chain reaction in the body to get diabetes. That can be true. In the African American community Diabetes is a pratically a pan epidemic. But the question still remains would a lot of the Type 2 folks have gotten diabetes if they were 20% healthier when they were diagnosed.
juliet.