Type 2 Diabetes Patients Who Are Overweight Live Longer Than Thinner Ones, Claims Study

"Obesity paradox" is what scientists call the phenomenon where overweight type 2 diabetes patients outlive those who are of normal or underweight. In the study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, few theories were offered as to why this effect is happening among diabetes patients.

One of the possible reasons, according to Eureka Alert, is that the development of type 2 diabetes in people who are overweight may differ from those who are under or have normal weight. Another possibility is that obese people are more likely to be diagnosed earlier with diabetes since weight is a widely known contributing factor for type 2 diabetes. The last one is people who have lower BMI are likely to have a lifestyle of alcohol and/or tobacco indulgence which contributes to their illness.

The research was carried out by analyzing more than 10,000 type 2 diabetes patients who have had the disease for more than 10 years. The study, led by Dr. Stephen Atkin and Dr. Pierluigi Costanzo of the University of Hull in Britain, found surprising results. They found that even though overweight and obese patients had an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, they outlived patients who had normal weight or were underweight.

According to NIH's BMI Index, an obese person has a BMI of 30 or higher, an overweight person has 25 to 29, a healthy weight ranges from 18 to 24, and underweight people have a BMI of less than 18.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common type, according to Diabetes.org. It affects more than 90 percent of over 25 million Americans diagnosed with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. People with type 2 diabetes have insulin resistance, where the body does not properly utilize insulin or because the pancreas cannot make enough insulin to regulate the blood glucose levels of the body.

According to Reuters, a previous 2014 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine conflicted the new one. The study suggested that extra weight does not affect the patient's survival weight but the research used normal weight. According to Costanzo, if they used the full BMI range, the results "would have been similar to ours."

The study was limited due to the lack of access of the researchers to information such as COD, fitness levels of the patients, and whether patients were medicated to regulate cholesterol levels. In any case, the researchers warned patients to keep the maintenance of normal weight in type 2 diabetes, according to Medical Daily. Further research will be conducted to find out why heavy weight people have the highest survival rates among all other weight groups.