Family history of obesity and diabetes raises diabetes risk, Study

According to a new study, having even one parent or sibling with type 2 diabetes doubled the chances of developing the disease and women meeting the above criteria were at a greater risk of being diagnosed with the disease.

The present research initiated by Dr Rob van Dam and his contemporaries from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston also found that women with a diabetic background were more prone to being obese.

Study particulars
A total of 73,227 American women with a family history of obesity and diabetes, who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study, were tracked by the researchers for a period of 20 years to come up with these findings.

Researchers gathered information regarding various lifestyle factors, weight, height and body mass index (BMI) of all the study participants and also calculated the probability of developing type 2 diabetes for all the subjects.

Study findings
On analysis, it was found that out of the total women who were part of this study, 5,101 developed type 2 diabetes in the course of the study period.

The study also suggests that similarity in lifestyle habits like drinking alcohol, eating red meat and consuming junk food of the study participants and their ancestors could also help in explaining the connect between family history and risk of developing diabetes.

A five percent link was found between women and their relatives drinking alcohol, one percent for eating red meat and three percent association was found in taking sugar-sweetened beverages.

Regardless of the findings, the study calls for more research to justify the association between diabetes and a family history of obesity and diabetes. It appears in the January issue of the medical Journal titled, ‘Diabetes Care’.

Persistent organic pollutants trigger obesity and cause diabetes
Another research initiated by Jung-Wei Chang of the National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan has proposed that exposure to dioxins may also increase the chances of developing diabetes.

“There’s just been a flood of evidence linking POPs to diabetics in the last five years. When you put this study in the context of what’s being done in other groups, it gives a very convincing story,” says David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany, New York.

It may be noted that having a greater concentration of POPs in the blood increases the chances of becoming obese and so researchers conclude that these toxins act as a go-between for obesity and diabetes.

Diabetologists recommend consuming less animal fat and keeping a tab on your weight and lifestyle habits to counter type 2 diabetes.