MNT (Oct. 4, 2011)- Men develop type 2 diabetes at a lower BMI (body mass index) than women, according to a new study by clinical researchers in Scotland expected to be published in a scientific journal this week. Their findings may explain why in many countries, men are more prone to the disease than women.
Being overweight is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes, but this study appears to show that men have to gain less weight than women to develop the condition, said the lead researcher Professor Naveed Sattar, of the Institute of Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences at the University of Glasgow.
Body Mass Index is a person's weight in kg divided by their height in metres squared and is used in health research and practice as a measure of obesity.
Type 2 diabetes is a condition that develops when there is too much sugar in the blood and the body can't control it. This upsets several organs, and appears also to be linked to how much fat is in organs like the liver and also the muscles. According to information from the NHS, about 2.5 million people in the UK have type 2 diabetes.Sattar said there are several risk factors for developing the disease, including age, ethnicity, family history, and of course, being overweight.
But this study appears to show that men don't have to be as overweight as women to develop the disease:
"In other words, men appear to be at higher risk for diabetes," said Sattar.
For their study, Sattar and colleagues analyzed data from 51,920 men and 43,137 women living in Scotland who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and compared their BMI rates (measured within one year of diagnosis), taking into account factors like age and smoking status.
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