If You're Obese & Have Diabetes, You Could Die Early

Interesting research about the diabetes-obesity connection has just been released from scientists at the University of Kentucky and Atlanta's Emory University.

As WebMD reported, obesity is a major cause of early death, but a new study published in Critical Care, suggests that this occurs only in people who have diabetes.

In other words, if you have diabetes, you're three times more likely as folks without it to develop a life-threatening critical illness and die prematurely. But, if you're obese but do not have diabetes, you have the same risk of dying or getting organ failure as normal-weight people without the disease.

Let me clarify in case you're confused.

If you're obese, you're at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. In fact, 9 out of 10 people newly diagnosed with the disease are overweight or obese, according to the American Diabetes Association.

But apparently most previous studies that have linked obesity to early death didn't consider the independent impact of diabetes, researcher David M. Mannino, MD, told WebMD.

"What this paper shows pretty clearly is that diabetes is really the driving factor in early death from critical illness among people who are overweight or obese," Dr. Mannino says.

What's the take-home lesson here?

To simplify this, if you're obese, try to get your weight under control. And if you're obese and diabetic, you really should lose your excess pounds so you won't die at an early age.

Grappling with either of those situations? Join my free, online KickSugar support group.