Weight loss may reduce your risk of diabetic complications


A modest weight loss can improve your blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood fat levels and may reduce your risk of diabetic complications.

You may have heard it from your doctor a million times: "Lose weight and get more exercise." And you may have tried to get it done just as many times, or so it feels. What is seldom told to patients, however, is that although getting your weight to some healthy range is good, numerous benefits are achieved simply by losing 5 to 10 percent of your bodyweight.

In short, you don't have to lose a lot of weight to enhance your blood sugar control minimizing your blood pressure level, cholesterol, triglycerides, need for medication, and risk of diabetic complications. Losing just ten to fifteen pounds, studies show, creates these improvements for most people, in addition to lightening the strain on your hips, knees, ankles, and feet, letting you move around and breathe more easily, and providing you with more energy.

While there are contrary opinions as to whether excess weight causes insulin resistance or insulin resistance causes excess fat, many people who get type 2 diabetes are overweight and slimming down is often the first step suitable for managing type 2 diabetes.

The study "Meta-analysis: Effect of Dietary Counseling to lose weight," published in the July 2007 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, shows that losing about 5 to 7 percent of the body weight can decrease insulin resistance, help normalize blood sugars, and reduce the risk of short- and long-term complications by as much as 40 percent.

The American Diabetes Association's standards of care recommend losing this much weight as a starting point to improving glycemic control. Those who are obese may need to lose more weight to reap these benefits, but accomplishing this smaller weight reduction, diabetes educators say, helps inspire patients to go on and make larger improvements.

The first simple measure on your method to regaining health would be to check your weight against a typical weight chart, comparing your actual weight to the ideal weight for your height and frame. The average 5 foot 4 inch American female should weigh about one hundred and thirty-three pounds, with a range between 114 and 152 pounds. The typical 5 foot 8 inch American male should weigh about one hundred and fifty-four pounds, having a range from 137 and 171 pounds.

Your body mass index (BMI) is also an essential number to know. It lets you know what percent of your body weight consists of fat and is calculated according to your height and weight. A normal BMI falls between 18.5 and 24.9. A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is recognized as overweight, and one above 30 obese.

Again, the best way to calculate your BMI is applying an online calculator. Although total excess fat is essential, most obesity experts consider where fat tissue is located on your body to become the main predictor of weight-related diseases for example atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Abdominal fat is easily the most dangerous. If you are appleshaped, meaning you carry most of your weight around your stomach and abdomen, you have a and the higher chances of weight-related disorders than if you are pear-shaped and carry more of your weight on your buttocks and thighs.

People with an apple shape are believed to possess a higher risk of hypertension, triglycerides, and LDL (bad) cholesterol; low HDL (good) cholesterol; cardiovascular disease; and stroke. Waist circumference can help see whether you are an apple or pear shape. Measure your waist just above your belly button.

If you are male, a proper waist measurement is less than forty inches. If you are female, a proper waist measurement is under thirty-five inches. Aging and hormones could cause fat buildup round the abdomen, but losing weight may affect your shape, as may targeted exercises. Want to shake some of that belly fat away? No kidding: Try belly-dancing!

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This article was sent to us by: Chloe Larson at 02152011

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