[Rad Warrier]

From my reading of posts here for the past two and a half months, most posters here seem to share the view that type 2 diabetes is not caused by gluttony and sloth. Here is the same view presented in one of my favourite diabetes-related sites (Jenny's "Diabetes Update"):

" Looking forward, the most interesting development I see is this: Over the past year or two, the drop in price of the arrays used to do genetic testing is making it possible for researchers, finally, to investigate the genetic underpinnings of diabetes by testing large populations and statistically analyzing hundreds of thousands of SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) looking for the subtle genetic flaws that until now were impossible to detect.

What they are discovering is laying to rest the idea that Type 2 diabetes is caused by gluttony and sloth. Almost every week a new genetic flaw is discovered to be prevalent in people with Type 2, many of them, to the surprise of investigators, flaws that limit insulin secretion, though a few common SNPs found in people with Type 2, are alsoo being linked with increases insulin resistance or, more interestingly, defects in the way that the liver releases glucose.

Though doctors are not aware of this research and many still blame patients for their diabetes, the genetic advances we are starting to see are beginning to change this. Only this year the media have started to describe Type 2 as being genetic in origin rather than, as was the case in the past, describing it as being caused by an indulgent lifestyle. "

Regards,
Rad

[enigmalady777]

I think that it stands to reason that if obesity were the sole cause of type 2 diabetes, then EVERY obese individual would be a diabetic and no type 2 diabetic would be thin.

The reality of it is that the disease is one with many factors contibuting to its cause, and genetics certainly plays a large part in it.

I have also read articles that point to obesity as a symptom of diabetes, and not a cause. This actually makes sense - the struggle that some of us have keeping weight off would seem connected to our defective metabolism.

[Imperatrix]

What's confusing me is that no one on either side of my family has diabetes. Some are fat, some are thin.

I am fat and I have Type II. Did I eat like a pig to gain this weight? Absolutely. So...what am I supposed to believe now? I mean, there is a possibility that someone in my family is a diabetic, but just doesn't want anyone to know...

[Harold]

Like no butt, but that's genetic also.

[PrettynPurple]

I agree that obesity can be a cause of diabetes but I also believe that we can contribute to getting it by not eating healthy. My lil sis is a healthy eater (also skinny), never a big carb eater, was dx IR back in 2004/05 after gaining 30 lbs in 2 months for no reason. My dad was skinny, and he was a type 2, my uncle and I are both overweight and both type 2. My uncle eats healthier than I, except for the fact he downs soda at an alarming rate (one in which surprises me that he was abel to get off insulin and onto oral meds). Do I blame my weight for causing diabetes, no. Do I blame my poor eating habits, yeah, but I have done the whole Atkins stuff in teh past, majoy yo-yo dieter here. And I at 29 am I type 2 diabetic. But.................I will say this I think I have been badly dx for yrs, I am thinking as far back as 2005 I should have been dx IR or flat out diabetic, because I can pinpoint that year as being ok, maintaining weight adn then gaining weight for no reason, and then being hungry all teh time. But no one cares when you dont' have real insurance. I've taken classes on how to read labels for an early childhood education nutrition class, and I think classes like that should be tauight in high schools, they weren't when i graduated and I graduated back in 1998. If I knew then what I know now, I would prolly have stayed thinner longer. Although I know that the chances of me becoming IR or diabetic would have still been there.

[fgummett]

I believe that the more important question is, "why do we overeat?"

The established view seems to put this down to a behavioural or lifestyle issue... gluttony in other words... but consider a child who is going through a growth spurt and eating everything in sight... do we say they are growing because they are overeating, or are they overeating because they are growing? I maintain that is it the latter: something in their body (growth hormone in this case) is prompting their body to take in more food than it was previously.

In other words, excess fat is caused by a physiological condition... NOT a psychological one.

[jillybean]

I know there is some sort of genetic componenet or else, as has already been stated, ALL obese people would be diabetic, and that's just not the case. I was diagnosed at age 25, a bit under 300 pounds. I have a cousin who has been heavier for me for more years than me (she is 5 years older than me), and she is tested regularly and has yet to show even a sign of IR. My mother (not related to this cousin by blood, as the cousin is on my father's side) is also type 2.

That said, I can't say if I would have eventually shown signs of diabetes if I had maintained a healthy weight, so I do believe it is partly my own choices that got me into this boat. I'm not one to blame genetics 100%.

[fgummett]

I don't blame genetics either... (nor am I looking for an excuse by the way)... but I no longer believe that I consciously made a choice to overeat until I became overweight.

Here is an over-simplified scenario to consider:

1) frequent high-levels of insulin - possibly caused by a diet rich in refined carbohydrates - leads to a down-regulation of insulin sensitivity, increased appetite, and excess storage of fat...

2) increased fat storage leads to further insulin resistance which in turn leads to higher-levels of insulin (see #1), it also leads to fatigue, less energy for activity, poor sleep (even apnea) which also increases appetite for fast energy foods (refined carbs)

It may begin slowly but you can see how cycling between #1 and #2 can quickly snow-ball into obesity and Type 2 diabetes in those with a genetic pre-disposition.

The excess fat is a symptom of a metabolic dysfunction... not the cause.

---

When I say I am not looking for an excuse, I still take responsibility for myself as an adult. BUT it is only since I understood the above scenario that I could begin to take charge and do something about it... before that I was feeling guilt and out of control of my own body... as if I had chosen this state.

[Barberian]

Food for thought, no pun intended.

AD-36 - Wikipedia

Human adenovirus 36 (HAdV-36) or AD-36 is one of 51 types of adenoviruses known to infect humans. It was first shown to be associated with obesity in chickens by Dr. Nikhil Dhurandhar.[1][2]

There has been a positive correlation between body fat and the presence of AD-36 antibodies in the blood (International Journal of Obesity vol29 pages 281-286). Previous research showed that chicken or mice injected with similar types of viruses show a statistically significant weight gain.[1]

To date, AD-36 is the only human adenovirus that has been linked with human obesity, present in 30% of obese humans and 11% of nonobese humans.[3] AD-36 also causes obesity in chickens, mice, rats, and monkeys.[3]

AD-36 infection can induce cellular differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and stem cells derived from human adipose tissue.[4]

[fgummett]

Wouldn't be in the least surprised if it were a virus... remember when peptic ulcers were also caused by "lifestyle" choices: high stress job, poor eating habits, too much caffeine, and smoking... that is until they found it was a bug that can be cured with antibiotics

Seems to be a pattern with the medical establishment when they don't really know the cause.... it must by behavioural/psychological!

[PERKDOUG]

Originally Posted by Rad Warrier

most posters here seem to share the view that type 2 diabetes is not caused by gluttony and sloth. Here is the same view presented in one of my favourite diabetes-related sites (Jenny's "Diabetes Update"):
"[/i] "
Rad

Sometimes I have to live up to my reputation as a pest.

It is interesting that Anti-gluttony (dieting) and anti-slothery (exercise) are the main engines to slow or stop the progression of Type 2. This does not prove or disprove the causation but it causes me to be a skeptic.

Sorry for being a dissenter on this topic.

[Angeldove]

I agree that it can be genetic and/or also brought on by our lifestyles. Many years ago, my grandmother became diabetic at an older age and her doctor said that with some people it is in their genes and then if they go through a very stressful situation, it can make the diabetes come out. I'm beginning to believe that as my grandmother made it all those years and then after the death of my grandfather, she became diabetic. Then with myself, after years of unbelievable stress and caring for my spouse after several traumatic injuries - "poof" - suddenly I became a diabetic. My doctor often said, if he could make my husband well . . . that he thought I'd be fine too! It seems that my diabetes rolls up and down like a rollercoaster according to my stress levels.

[Amelie]

Originally Posted by PERKDOUG

Sometimes I have to live up to my reputation as a pest.

It is interesting that Anti-gluttony (dieting) and anti-slothery (exercise) are the main engines to slow or stop the progression of Type 2. This does not prove or disprove the causation but it causes me to be a skeptic.

Sorry for being a dissenter on this topic.

In my case, although to manage my weight and my diabetes I now eat less than I did before, I did not overeat before I was diagnosed. I now eat between 1300 and 1500 calories a day. Before I was diagnosed I was eating between 1800 and 2000 calories a day, which is supposedly "normal". I suppose you'll probably think I'm in denial or something when I say this, but I absolutely was not ever a glutton.

However, my mother has diabetes, her mother had it, and my grandmother's mother had it.

I also have hypothyroidism, which certainly doesn't help.

[Amelie]

Originally Posted by Angeldove

I agree that it can be genetic and/or also brought on by our lifestyles. Many years ago, my grandmother became diabetic at an older age and her doctor said that with some people it is in their genes and then if they go through a very stressful situation, it can make the diabetes come out.

I think this may be the case for me. Since I was about 20, I've been tested for diabetes every year or two because of my extremely strong family history and my weight. (And yes, there were times over the years when I tried to lose weight but until my hypothyroidism was finally diagnosed and treated all my efforts were in vain.) At the end of 2006, I was tested, and my blood sugar was normal. In July 2008, I was tested, and I had full-blown diabetes. No pre-diabetes for me, apparently. However, I did go through a stressful time in December 2007. My mother-in-law stayed with us for two weeks over Christmas. That may sound trivial, but I'm far too sensitive and her constant nasty treatment of me had me in such despair I wanted to kill myself. I felt like my marriage was doomed and I was a worthless human being with no hope of bettering myself. I snapped out of my emotional funk after she left, but my health wasn't the same after that. I was so tired in a way I hadn't experienced before. I really think the onset of my diabetes occurred during the stress of her visit.

She's coming again this spring. Woohoo.

[fam1257]

Fgummet, I think that you've got it right.

A progressive Doctor explained to me that while glucose levels can rise and fall quickly, the insulin that is produced in our blood remains much longer, and can cause weight gain. He told me that fat people do not become diabetics, rather diabetics become fat people.

Reducing our carbs does not directly cause weight loss; it reduces our need for insulin production, and subsequently the insulin levels decrease and the weight drops.

Further, I think that there is a difference in the weight gain potential between the natural insulin produced by T2s and the synthetic insulin for T1s... thats why T2s tend to be heavier than T1s.