In fact, weight gain is a huge factor in the development of the disease.
When you gain weight, even five pounds, you begin to experience insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that helps unlock the body's cells so that the sugar (glucose) from the food you eat can be used for energy.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, insulin resistance occurs when the body produces insulin but does not use it effectively. When this happens, glucose builds up in the blood instead of being absorbed by the cells, leading to type-2 diabetes or pre-diabetes.
Most people with insulin resistance aren't even aware they have it until it culminates with the development of type-2 diabetes. The good news is that if you learn you have insulin resistance early on, you can often prevent or delay diabetes by making changes to your lifestyle.
If you're concerned that you may be on the diabetes path, there is a lab test that can determine whether or not you have the disease. This test is called the A1C Test. The A1C test is a blood analysis that provides information about your average levels of blood glucose (also called blood sugar) over the past three months. The A1C test is sometimes called the hemoglobin A1c, HbA1c, or glycohemoglobin test. The A1C test is the primary test used for diabetes management and diabetes research.
If you DO have type-2 diabetes, or become insulin resistant, is there anything you can do to curb the condition?
Losing just seven percent body weight (as little as 10-15 pounds for many overweight people) can prevent type-2 diabetes, dramatically improve it, or in some cases even reverse its course.
Don't you want to break free from the pill bottle? It is possible to cut your diabetes medications by at least 50 percent, sometimes altogether, if you are able to lose the weight.
Osama Hamdy, PhD, at the forefront of cutting-edge clinical research conducted at Joslin Diabetes Center, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Dr. Hamdy reveals how you can reverse the course of your type-2 diabetes, lose weight for good and finally reclaim your health.
Osama Hamdy, MD, PhD, FACE, is the Medical Director of the Obesity Clinical Program, at Joslin Clinic and Director of Inpatient Diabetes Management. He is a Clinical Investigator and attending Adult Endocrinologist at Joslin Diabetes Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.