Diabetes cause Weight Gain to some & Loss to others | Connection between Obesity & Diabetes

In the previous blog, 4 thing to check before buying food product for Diabetes | Taking closer look at food label I, we discussed about 4 things to be considered before buying any food product for diabetics. 

Does weight gain lead to Diabetes? or does Diabetes lead to weight gain or loss? What is the connection between diabetes and obesity? So, in today's blog, we will try to explain to you how diabetes and obesity are directly or indirectly connected.

Obesity affects more than one billion people globally, including 650 million adults, 340 million adolescents, and 39 million children. This figure is still rising. According to WHO, by 2025, about 167 million individuals - adults and children will be less healthy due to being overweight or obese. 

Obesity is a condition that affects all of the body's systems. It has complications for the heart, liver, kidneys, joints, and reproductive system. It causes a variety of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and stroke, as well as numerous forms of cancer and challenges with mental health.

Diabetes and obesity are not local problems it’s a global problem. As the problem is serious, we need to start step by step to understand every aspect of the global problem.

History of diabetes & obesity

Fifty thousand years ago, during the Stone Age, humans used to live in forests and caves. They used to hunt for food and mostly fed on animal flesh. At that time there was no diabetes or obesity, the only possibility of death could be either infection or accident.

Around six thousand years ago humans started agricultural practices for livelihood. They mostly lived in colonies around riverbanks for fertile lands and fresh drinking water. They used various techniques for the cultivation of crops and vegetables. As we all know necessity is the mother of all inventions, slowly they used water as a mode of transport. 

Around three thousand years back cases of diabetes and obesity came under the spotlight. If you remember we discussed in our second blog, History of Diabetes - Part 2 | The Discovery of Insulin | इन्सुलिन की खोज, the increase in cases of diabetes after the 1800s. During industrialization, there was a rapid economic boost around the people, and this economic flow changed the priority of people from readymade goods to packaged food products. Almost all daily used items, started to be produced in masses. A slight push of manufactured goods from the industry pulled huge amounts of money from the consumers.

Today is the era of Globalization, where every item you can think of is globalized along with diabetes and obesity. The increase in cases of diabetes and obesity globally is of great concern.

Nutritional aspect

Before drawing any conclusion, we should analyze the nutritional aspects from the Stone Age to the present. In the Stone Age hunter-gatherers mainly hunted for food for survival. The basic components of their food used to be fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, etc. The carbohydrate component in their food used to be less. After that when humans evolved further and civilized to understand the benefits of agricultural practices, the amount of carbohydrate intake through grains in their diet increased. This carbohydrate intake slowly raised the cases of diabetes and obesity among the population and the cases increased as there was no permanent cure for the disorder. 

The last nail in the already sinking ship was the industrialization era. Where almost all food products started to be produced in the factories. This production in huge quantities decreased the cost of the product and increased its availability among the people. The invention and introduction of new products and recipes like Coca-Cola in 1892, Biscuits, Snacks, Burgers, etc. rapidly increased the cases of diabetes and obesity.  

In the present scenario along with food products diabetes and obesity are also globalized. The high carbohydrate-content food items are satisfactorily consumed by a huge number of people around the globe. The main concern is the increased rate in the incidence of diabetes and obesity among the young population. The excessive consumption of high glycemic index and high glycemic load food items is the main cause of major life-threatening conditions associated with diabetes and obesity. 

Physiological aspect

Three major nutritional components are present in our diet and they are protein, fats, and carbohydrates. When we consume these items, proteins get converted into amino acids, fats get converted to fatty acids and carbohydrates get converted into sugar inside the body. 

Neither protein nor fats can be converted into sugar, only carbohydrates get converted into sugar. The more you consume carbohydrates will be transformed into sugar inside the body. Now this sugar alone can not get into the cells, they require a carrier i.e., insulin which transports the sugar from blood to the cells. The cells use the sugar to produce energy and excess sugar inside the cells is converted into fats. This disposition of fats at different body parts increases the chances of obesity. 

Overeating habits of a high carbohydrate-rich diet cause an increase in sugar levels in the blood. To control the blood sugar level pancreas releases insulin in large quantities to counter the increase in blood sugar level. In such conditions, the cell doesn't open their doors for insulin because already a huge amount of sugar is present inside the cell. Thereby the cells show insulin resistance. As the entry of sugar is restricted inside the cells sugar flows along with the blood in the body. The blood glucose level test confirms its presence more than normal. 

So, in simple terms, obesity is developed due to the conversion and deposition of sugar into fats in the cells at different parts of the body, which disrupts the shape, size, and weight of the body. Due to the adequate presence of sugar in the cells, the extra sugar from blood can not enter the cell, and type 2 diabetes is developed along with insulin resistance. So, diabetes and obesity have a common origin and that is insulin resistance. Insulin resistance occurs due to the consumption of a high carbohydrate-rich diet.

The reason behind a carbohydrate-rich diet

Governments around the world around 1960-70 endorsed the consumption of low-fat diets among the people. Now the elimination of oily and fatty foods pulled out protein from the diet side by side. To compensate for the loss of fats and proteins people tend to rely more on carbohydrates and related food products.

The increase in carbohydrates in the diet triggered the sugar level to rise in the blood resulting in insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. For example, we take Poha, which is a low-fat item that is good for those who want a low-fat diet but if you look further, it’s glycemic index and glycemic load are high, making it a high carbohydrate-rich diet. So, one should avoid having Poha if he/she wants a carbohydrate-restricted diet. We can consider eggs in a carbohydrate-restricted diet because they contain high fats and proteins and no carbohydrates.

We believe that the endorsement of the consumption of a low-fat diet shifted the balance toward carbohydrates and related food products. These changes in diet forced the manufacturers to produce more carbohydrate-related food products according to the demand. This eventually gave rise to increased cases of diabetes and obesity.

Now answering to the above statement does Diabetes lead to weight gain or loss? In type 2 diabetes insulin resistance is expressed by the cells and the blood sugar level increases eventually. The extra sugar present in the blood gets converted into fats causing fat deposition in the body and resulting in weight gain. As in type 1 diabetes, the blood sugar level rises due to the absence of insulin in the body. So, the sugar cannot enter inside the cell and energy can not be produced by the cells. This results in loss of weight in type 1 diabetes. 

There is a simple correlation that can be drawn if there is high insulin in the body there will be weight gain and if there is low insulin or no insulin in the body then there will be weight loss. Both diabetes and obesity are directly related to carbohydrates and their uncontrolled consumption by people.

Diabexy has been working in the field of diabetes reversal for a long period. If you want to reverse your diabetes and want to consult with us, book a free consultation now. You can also try our wide range of products available on our website specially designed for pre-diabetic and diabetic individuals. 

In our next blog, Diet Plan for Diabetes Reversal | Diet Plan for Diabetics to Lose Weight |, we will be discussing the dietary plan for diabetics.