Being active and eating healthy are the best ways to manage weight. This advice
works for everybody, but it can be particularly helpful for people with diabetes.
That's because weight can influence diabetes, and diabetes can influence weight. This
relationship may be different for type 1 and type 2 diabetes, but the end advice is
the same: Managing weight can really make a difference in diabetes control.
Weight and Type 1 Diabetes
If a person has type 1 diabetes but
hasn't been treated yet, he or she often loses weight. In type 1 diabetes, the body
can't use glucose (pronounced: GLOO-kose)
properly because the pancreas no longer produces insulin. Insulin is the hormone that
helps move glucose into the body's cells where it can be used for energy.
Without insulin, blood glucose builds up to high levels. Eventually, the kidneys
flush the unusable glucose (and the calories) out of the body in urine, or pee, and
weight loss can happen. After treatment for type 1 diabetes, though, a person usually
returns to a healthy weight.
Sometimes, people with type 1 diabetes can be overweight too. They may be overweight
when they find out they have diabetes or they may become overweight after they start
treatment. Being overweight can make it harder for people with type 1 diabetes to
keep their blood sugar levels
under control.
Weight and Type 2 Diabetes
Most people are overweight
when they're diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Along with a family history of diabetes, being overweight or obese increases a person's
risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
People with type 2 diabetes have a condition called insulin
resistance where their bodies can make insulin, but can't use it properly to move
glucose into the body's cells. So, the amount of glucose in the blood rises. The pancreas
then makes more insulin to try to overcome the problem.
Eventually, the pancreas can wear out from working so hard and might not be able
to make enough insulin to keep blood glucose levels within a normal range. At this
point, a person has type 2 diabetes.
People can have insulin resistance without diabetes, but they're still at high
risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Weight loss, eating healthier foods and reasonable
portion sizes, and getting exercise
can improve and even reverse insulin resistance.
For people with type 2 diabetes, reversing insulin resistance makes it easier to
get blood sugar levels into a healthier range. For those who have insulin resistance
but not diabetes, reversing insulin resistance can reduce the risk that they'll develop
diabetes.