Obesity and Diabetes: The Twin Epidemic in 2023

Obesity is one of the leading factors for diabetes.

And diabetes can cause obesity. 

Currently, these interconnected conditions are escalating into a global epidemic.

According to market research, obesity is one of the most significant risk factors for Type 2 diabetes. Also, nearly 80-90% of type 2 diabetes patients are overweight or obese. The statistics are alarming because both conditions can substantially burden individuals, families, communities, and the healthcare system. Currently, India is on the verge of facing this epidemic.

This is why understanding how obesity can cause diabetes or how diabetes can cause obesity is crucial, and is there a way to prevent this global-level epidemic? 

In this blog on obesity and diabetes, you’ll understand

• What is obesity?
• What is diabetes?
• How can obesity lead to diabetes?
• How can diabetes also cause obesity?
• And, are there any methods to prevent diabesity?

Now that we know what obesity is let’s understand what diabetes is.

The bidirectional relationship between obesity & diabetes

The relationship between obesity and diabetes is bidirectional, meaning each condition can cause or exacerbate the other. 

When obesity is the leading cause of diabetes:

Obesity is closely associated with insulin resistance, a typical condition in which the cells of your body fail to respond adequately to insulin resulting in elevated blood glucose levels. 

Obese individuals often accumulate chronic fat in their adipose tissue (or body fat), disrupting insulin signalling pathways and contributing to insulin resistance. The adipose tissue releases cytokines and adipokines that can affect the insulin function and metabolism of lipids and glucose. This is one of the major reasons why obese individuals have been found to have type 2 diabetes. 

Excessive fat accumulation in tissues like the liver and muscle can lead to lipotoxicity, where toxic lipid metabolites interfere with cellular function and insulin signalling. Lipotoxicity contributes to insulin resistance and pancreatic beta cell dysfunction, promoting the development of diabetes.

When diabetes is the leading cause of obesity:

Uncontrolled diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes, can trigger hormonal imbalances.

Here’s what happens when you have diabetes –

Your pancreas manages the glucose levels in your blood. It creates insulin, which helps to move the glucose out of your body. In a normal condition, the insulin transports the glucose to your muscles to use immediately as energy or to your liver – where it is stored for later use. 

When you have diabetes, your cells prevent the insulin from transporting glucose to your muscles or liver. This means that glucose remains in your bloodstream despite your pancreas continuing to produce insulin.

In such cases, the treatment often involves medication that lowers blood sugar levels that trigger hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia also triggers hunger and overeating, which can lead to weight gain. Besides this, complications from diabetes limit physical activity, which leads to a sedentary lifestyle and, as a result, excessive weight gain.  

Eventually, your pancreas goes into overdrive because of the excessive weight gain trying to fight the resistance from the fat cells. The pancreas tires out and produces less insulin as the condition deteriorates, rapidly exacerbating diabetes.

It becomes this never-ending cycle where both diabetes and obesity keep making the situation worse for an individual. 

How to prevent and manage Diabesity?

When you have diabetes and obesity, you have diabesity. The good news, both conditions are manageable.

• Regular health check-ups: Whether you have obesity or diabetes, regular screenings help identify health problems and make treatment more manageable. 
• A comprehensive approach to obesity and diabetes: This approach helps an individual target the modifiable risk factors such as stress, overeating, lack of exercise, diet, etc. and promotes healthy lifestyle choices. 
• Encouraging consumption of whole, nutrient-dense foods: Limiting the intake of processed foods help manage weight and prevent diabetes. Regular intake of processed foods and refined carbohydrates leads to rapid blood sugar spikes, which strains insulin production.
• Promoting physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviour: Exercise is beneficial for managing and preventing obesity & diabetes. Physical exercise helps regulate blood sugar levels more effectively and reduces the risk of developing insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes. It also enhances insulin sensitivity and reduces body fat, including harmful visceral adipose tissue linked to obesity-related health problems.  
• Sleep management: Sleep disturbances promote fat storage and appetite dysregulation. Sleep is also associated with hunger hormones called Ghrelin and Leptin. When your sleep cycle is affected, the hunger hormones are affected, and you experience increased hunger and decreased satiety. Getting a healthy amount of sleep is paramount when managing diabesity.
• Diabetes medications like Metformin: The older medications available to treat diabetes worked by increasing insulin levels. Today, medications like Metformin improve muscle glucose uptake and act as insulin sensitisers. This means the medicine enables cells to process glucose levels by reducing sugar absorption and glucose production. This leads to a decrease in appetite and a reduction in fat storage. These medications are, therefore, much more helpful when it comes to fighting diabesity. 
• Medical weight loss programs like Elevate Now: Designed by expert doctors like obesity specialists and health coaches, Elevate Now is India’s first medical weight loss program. This program provides one-on-one medical consultation and nutritional guidance that helps sustain weight loss and diabetes management.

For a healthier tomorrow

Obesity and diabetes are intertwined health challenges that demand immediate attention and recognising the early signs can facilitate timely interventions. To help manage diabetes, you need to manage your weight potentially. Having said that, following a healthy diet, leading an active lifestyle might be the first step in fighting this epidemic.

Frequently Asked Questions about Diabetes and Obesity