It is a common belief that only obese individuals are affected by type 2 diabetes. However, even a person who is lean according to body mass index may be at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. A slender person may be equivalent to a metabolically obese person because BMI does not measure fat around body parts.
Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which the body becomes insulin resistant and does not use insulin as it should. Type 2 diabetes is more prevalent in adults, but young people are also affected by it.
Dr Ambrish Mithal, President and Head of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Max Healthcare, Delhi, told The Indian Express that people often assume that they will not get type 2 diabetes if they are not overweight.
Dr Mithal said that diabetes is not always related to our looks. Many people believe that if their BMI (Body Mass Index) is less than 25, they are healthy. But weighing scales can give a false sense of security.
“Individuals of normal body weight but with increased body fat and low muscle mass ratio often have insulin resistance. They are equally at risk of developing type 2 diabetes,” Dr. Mithal told The Indian Express.
According to Dr Mithal, lack of physical exercise can be the main reason behind type 2 diabetes. Less physical activity can result in less muscle mass and increased insulin resistance, even in lean individuals. Such lean individuals have less muscle mass and a higher ratio of body fat and experience the same effects as obese people, Dr. Mithal explained.
A thin person with high visceral fat and cholesterol is also at risk of developing diabetes. According to Dr Mithal, the risk for such individuals is higher if there is a history of diabetes in the family.
Patients with type 2 diabetes are usually given oral antidiabetic drugs initially, but may require insulin earlier than obese patients. Some types of diabetes are classified as monogenic diabetes, where a single gene defect can cause the disease and such patients are not always overweight.
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