FUTURE DIABETICS OVER-EAT
If you are related to a diabetic you will have a strong tendency to overeat and gain fat. A study by an Australian group in Sydney demonstrated that people who were not diabetic, but related to a diabetic, ate much more in terms of calories than their peers. And, these same people gained more weight.
Overeaters Gain More Fat If Related to a Diabetic, Study Finds
By Jason Gale
Overeating is more fattening for people who have a close relative with diabetes, study reports (Bloomberg)
PEOPLE WITH A DIABETIC RELATIVE GAINED 55 PERCENT MORE WEIGHT
Adults who have at least one immediate relative with type-2 diabetes and who consumed 1,250 calories more than required daily gained 55 percent more weight than those without the close ties. The study at Sydney’s Garvan Institute is the first to compare the effects of experimental overfeeding in individuals with and without a family history of type-2 diabetes. It appeared yesterday in the medical journal Diabetologia.
JUST HAVING THE GENES MAKES YOU EAT MORE
The finding suggests overindulging is more harmful to those with a diabetic relative and may help explain why they are especially prone to getting the disease from an obesity-inducing diet and lifestyle, the authors said. While both groups were given the same dietary instructions, those with a family history of diabetes had a greater propensity to eat in excess, they said.
“Our study shows just how quickly the body reacts to overeating, and how harmful it can be in susceptible people,” said co-author Lesley Campbell, Garvan’s leader of patient studies on diabetes and obesity, in a statement. “While we expected differences between the two groups, we were surprised by the amount of extra weight the diabetes-prone group gained.”
INSULIN RESISTANCE IS THE CULPRIT
Overfeeding induced resistance to insulin, the hormone used to convert blood sugar to energy, and liver-fat deposition in both groups, the researchers said. The increase in fat was closely aligned with the amount of weight gained, they said.
HOLIDAY EATING PATTERNS
The researchers set out to mimic the kind of overeating that typically takes place during feasting periods, such as between Thanksgiving and New Year. They compared the effects of 28 days of overfeeding on 17 adults with a family history of type-2 diabetes against 24 who had no known genetic predisposition to the disease.
SEDENTARY LIVING
Both groups led sedentary lifestyles, were healthy and were allowed to select what they ate. Those with a family history of diabetes gained an average of 3.4 kilograms over four weeks, compared with a 2.2 kilogram-gain in the group without.
POTATO CHIPS
Test subjects were offered potato chips, chocolate bars and cheesecake among a range of high-fat snacks to supplement their normal diets. Their weight and fat distribution were measured at the start of the trial, after 3 days and at 28 days.
INSULIN LEVELS
Levels of insulin were also recorded. People genetically predisposed to diabetes had more insulin in their blood after three days, before they showed any detectable difference in weight gain from the other group.
PPY MOLECULES
Increased weight gain was associated with lower levels of the so-called PYY molecule, a hormone released from the gut after a meal which creates a feeling of satiety, the researchers said. A lack of PYY may have made the group with family history bigger bingers and more susceptible to weight gain.
RISK FOR DIABETES
Those genetically predisposed to type-2 diabetes probably have a greater tendency to put on weight generally, said Dorit Samocha-Bonet, the study’s lead author, in a telephone interview. “It may happen over a long term and that would mean that they are at an increased risk of developing diabetes.”
DON’T BE A PIG!
People can manage this tendency by “really being very cautious about what they eat and the physical activity that they engage in,” Samocha-Bonet said. “They can definitely control this problem, they just have to be very aware.”
ALMOST HALF A BILLION DIABETICS
About 285 million adults worldwide have diabetes, according to the International Diabetes Federation in Brussels, which predicts cases may reach 438 million by 2030. Type-2 diabetes is the most common form of the disease, occurring when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or no longer responds to it.
DR. PINNA SAYS:
Eating is one of the great pleasures of life.
However, over-eating is more a loss of self control which all of us recognize as we do it. The cultured person enjoys his food, but when he senses he is satiated, he stops and smiles and has the double pleasure of fine food and the power of self control.
