CHICAGO, Nov 25, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- One in five of those with type 2
diabetes is about 100 pounds overweight, U.S. researchers found.
Researchers at Loyola University Health System report 62.4 percent of U.S.
adults with type 2 diabetes are obese and 20.7 percent are morbidly obese --
more than 100 pounds heavier than ideal body weight, or have a body ass index of
more than 40. Among African-American adults with type 2 diabetes, one in three
is morbidly obese.
"The rate of morbid obesity among people with diabetes is increasing at a very
alarming rate and this has substantial public health implications," lead author
Dr. Holly Kramer said in a statement.
Kramer and colleagues examined data from the National Health and Nutrition
Examination Surveys that included interviews and physical examinations for the
representative samples of the U.S. population completed from l976-2006. The
researchers found a 141 percent increase in the rate of morbid obesity in type 2
diabetes between survey periods 1976-1980 and 2005-2006.
Morbid obesity was defined as having a body mass index -- a measure of body fat
based on height and weight -- greater than 40.
The study findings are published online in the Journal of Diabetes and its
Complications.
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