A connection and a cause are two different things. There is definitely a connection, but it is not a clear cause.
It could be that people with D are living longer and having more children who are then prone to D. Or that there is better testing and awareness so more people know they are D than ever before.
The problem comes when people like Dr Oz go on talk shows and say that by eating X or Y and exercising you will have less chance of developing diabetes because this leads to a perception in the mind of the general public that people develop diabetes because they do not take care of themselves - when of course the relationships between those factors is far more complicated than the simplistic talk show states. This results in a massive stigma, guilt and victim-blaming being attached to T2. That makes it harder and harder for people with D to cope with and manage their condition well.
I'm not suggesting everyone related to us with diabetes is doomed, but I am suggesting that those who have the diabetes genes and who don't take care of their health, let their guard down and allow their weight to reach high (obese) levels have a greater chance of developing diabetes than those who do take care of themselves. I've been attending diabetes training groups for over a decade and can probably count on one hand the number of participants who were thin and fit, among a selection of hundreds.
That aside, I believe the link between obesity and diabetes type II has been established through numerous studies. It's certainly not rocket science to link insulin resistance, the underlying factor in diabetes type II, with excess abdominal fat.
There's no arguing that diet does not play a role in T2. I did not create the American diet but I was raised with it. I don't feel that I'm responsible for my getting this disease but I do feel I'm at fault for not taking control of it sooner. Some of my elders developed T2 but it was not till they were in their latter years . They were not raised with a McD's on every corner either.
For me the diabetes was always there but I pushed it to the surface sooner. I have long ago stopped blaming myself for my T2 but rather put my efforts into controlling it
I realize that what I am about to describe now does not qualify as a scientific study, it is purely anecdotal. But it is based on a personal, very ground breaking experience. I'm now of age 61. About 14 years ago I was diagnosed with type II diabetes, and four years later I found out I had a hereditary blood disorder called hemochromatosis. It is basically iron overload which is the opposite of being anemic and which results in damage to internal organs including the pancreas, heart and liver, from rusting iron inside my body.
The damage to the pancreas was obvious, that's why I am diabetic. After diagnosis of diabetes I was prescribed metformin. Reading the fine print in the accompanying note from the pharmacy, about all the potential side effects, I figured there had to be a better way. There was, after some research on the internet I ended up exercising three times a day and following a GI index based diet.
Not only did I manage to keep my hba1c in the 5.0 range, I lost 60 lbs and felt totally re-energized.
However, the hemochromatosis had not gone away, and on January 9, 2010 at noon it hit me. I was on my way to a University lecture and instead I woke up, 6 weeks later, in a hospital bed. I was told that I had been hit by a cardiac arrest and technically been dead for just over five minutes before a passerby who knew CPR went to work on my chest. I'd spent the first week submerged in a bathtub with icepacks around me to prevent further organ damage.
And I was told that I had ABI - Acquired Brain Injury - and could never work again.
Well, after 6 months in rehab and 2 years spent challenging my brain, I proved them wrong.
The last time I was in for a checkup at the hospital the cardiologist made it clear that the only reason I was alive today was the efforts I made to manage my diabetes, which greatly had improved my overall health. (And, I personally suspect that the fact that I quit smoking 10 years ago, helped as well.)
I'm happy to say that I'm now on schedule to work another 10 years before I retire.
Not bad considering I was considered dead 2 years ago. And all thanks to my diabetes wake-up call.
