New Delhi, July 14 (IANS). The risk of type-2 diabetes is not only related to increased body weight or obesity, but muscle health also plays an important role in it. A study led by Curtin University in Australia found that people who have muscle weakness along with excess body fat have a significantly higher risk of diabetes.
This research has been published in ‘Diabetes Care’, one of the world’s leading diabetes journals. In the study, researchers from the Curtin School of Population Health and the Curtin Enable Institute’s Dementia Center of Excellence analyzed health data of nearly 4.8 lakh adults over 14 years. All the people involved in the study were free from diabetes at the beginning of the research.
Researchers found that people who had both obesity and muscle weakness had a condition called ‘sarcopenic obesity’. In such people, the risk of developing type-2 diabetes was found to be more than three and a half times more than that of people with healthy body composition.
According to the study, people with sarcopenic obesity had a 19 percent higher risk of type 2 diabetes than people with only obesity. At the same time, this risk was found to be 91 percent higher compared to people with only low muscle mass or weakness (sarcopenic).
The study’s lead author and PhD researcher, Zhongyang Guan, said that these findings challenge the notion that diabetes risk is primarily determined by body weight. He said that excess weight is a major cause of diabetes, but muscle health also plays an important role in understanding the risk.
He said that people who have both more fat and less muscle have a significantly higher risk of diabetes than people who have only obesity. Therefore, when assessing the risk of diabetes, it is important to also pay attention to muscle strength and quantity instead of just looking at weight or body mass index.
The research also revealed that about 15 percent of people with sarcopenic obesity developed type-2 diabetes within 10 years, compared to about 11 percent of people with obesity and about 3 percent of people with healthy body composition. The study found this relationship to be stronger in women and adults under 60 years of age.
Senior head of the research, Professor Mario Siervo, said that to prevent diabetes, it is important to pay attention to body weight as well as muscle health. He said that amid increasing age and increasing obesity rates, maintaining muscle strength through regular physical activity, exercise and adopting a healthy lifestyle can play an important role in reducing the risk of type-2 diabetes.
–IANS
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