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EDU-9 | Diabetes causes Weight gain in some and weight loss in others.
What’s the connection between Diabetes and Obesity?
This video talks about the connection between Diabetes and Obesity; how they are related and their historical, nutritional, and physiological aspect has been discussed. Why, after the introduction of grains and processed food and their industrialization; obesity, and diabetes both are increasing at an alarming speed. Insulin Resistance is the common root problem of both obesity and diabetes. And the solution is very simple – reduction of carbohydrates in our diet. A low carbohydrate low glycemic load diet is beneficial for both Diabetes as well as Obesity.
History of Diabetes and Obesity?
Thousands of years back when human beings used to live in jungles and hunt down his food to survive, at that time there were no diabetes cases, the main problem was infection at that time and the cause of death was just accident or attack by other animals or infection.
Like 6000 years back humans learned farming and settled down near some river because the land is very fertile and has rich soil, and they also use the river for transportation. Then around 3000 years back we found few cases of diabetes.
In the 1800s everything started to be industrialized and income started to increase as well, so does diabetes with the changes in food components. Now everything is Globalized, diabetes and obesity is also globalized and it's on its peak now.
Nutritional Aspect on Diabetes and Obesity;
50 thousand years ago during the hunter's era used to eat meat, raw fruits and all components in his food diet was protein, fat and fibers, minerals, and enzymes. There were no grains at that time so carbohydrates content was low in his diet. When the agricultural era started and grains were introduced in our diet and carbohydrates content increased in our diet, and by the time of the industrial era. Grains were also industrialized like wheat turned into maida and sugarcane turned into sugar. Around 1892 Coca Cola was also hyped up, we got new recipes like bread, cookies, and candies. With all these changes, diabetes and obesity were also increasing.
Now it's the globalization era, you can get any food anywhere around the globe, like diabetes and obesity can be found all around the globe. Carbohydrate component in our diet is quite high now due to its processed nature with high glycemic index and high glycemic load.
Physiological Aspect
3 major components of our diet are converts into these substances after it enters in our body;
- Fat ——————> Fatty acid
- Protein ————> Amino acid
- Carbs —————> Sugar
After converting into sugar it travels through blood in our body and it needs a carrier to enter in the cell which is Insulin made by the beta cells of pancreas, and cells use that sugar as a source of energy and the extra sugar is converted into fat and deposited in our body and with time it keeps on getting stored and the person starts to gain the weight and become obese. When a cell has more than the sufficient sugar for its function then the cell stops letting insulin bring more sugar and develops insulin resistance against it.
So as insulin resistance develops people become Obese and Diabetic.
In Type 1 Insulin dependent diabetes there’s absence of insulin which is the carrier to take blood sugar into cells, so cells won’t have enough sugar to function and fat won’t be stored. So in T1DM blood sugar level goes high but weight starts reducing and can go below BMI range.