Being overweight or obese puts you at a much higher risk for type 2 diabetes. In fact, doctors say that obesity is the number one indicator for the disease. Additionally, how and where you carry your excess weight is a large determinant in assessing your risk of diabetes.
People who carry weight around their middles have a higher risk of diabetes and other diseases. One of the reasons for this is that fat creates a physical barrier that can prevent insulin from doing its job. When blood sugar levels are high, type 2 diabetes can be the result.
Taking off excess weight can help reduce your diabetes risk. Losing as little as 7% of your body weight may be enough to severely cut your risk. That means, if you weigh 225 pounds, losing just 16 pounds can decrease your diabetes risk. The closer you get to your ideal BMI, of course, the more health benefits you will gain.
Exercise can also help reduce your diabetes risk, even if you do not lose weight. Ideally, you should be getting at least 30 minutes of exercise five times a week. Remember that physical activity is not limited to work-outs. You can get exercise through doing yard work, housework and just from daily walking. Doctors suggest using a pedometer and making sure you take at least 10,000 steps each day.
If diet and exercise have not worked for you, you may wish to consider bariatric procedures such as a sleeve gastrectomy. Procedures such as the gastric sleeve cure type 2 diabetes in as many as 80% of patients. Talk to a Taylorsville bariatric surgeon to find out if bariatric surgery is appropriate for you.