I really don't get this, but here goes: according to a report summarized on the website DiabetesHealth, weight gain reduces the severity of heart disease in type 1 diabetics. Huh? How can that be possible, I'm wondering? After all, we live in a world where weight gain is considered a great evil, a threat to individual health, a drain on our healthcare resources etc. etc. And now this!?The findings come from the Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications Study, which was conducted over a period of sixteen years and involved the participation of 225 type 1 diabetes patients. The Pittsburgh people agree more fat on the bones adds up to one heck of a big risk factor for heart disease. However, they also say that if you're type 1 and do get heart disease, carrying extra weight makes the heart disease less severe. They also report that this effect is especially true for women. So, the big question: why? The researchers think it's because heavier people may have better insulin control. But don't run for the local Burger Barn; weight gain is not desirable as it does more harm than good in the long run.
1. The issue seems to be that the cause of heart disease is different in type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Last year, researchers at the University of California Davis Health Center in Sacramento showed evidence that cardiovascular disease in type 1 diabetes was actually caused by autoimmunity, a decidedly different form of inflammation associated with type 2 diabetes. All of this suggests that its about time a separate cardiovascular disease risk model is developed for type 1 diabetes, as there's only one for type 2 and the nondiabetic population, not type 1 specifically.
Posted at 9:49AM on Aug 8th 2007 by Scott