Diabetes Diet & Health News Obesity

Link Between Obesity and Diabetes Proven

July 9, 2009
By J White

A link between obesity and the onset of Type 2 diabetes has been proven by a study at Monash University. This discovery could eventually lead to the design of a drug to prevent the disease.

The lead researcher in the study, Associate Professor Matthew Watt, discovered that fat cells release a particular protein called pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF). This protein was found to trigger a chain of events and interactions that led to the development of Type 2 diabetes.

Professor Watt stated that when PEDF is released into the bloodstream, it causes the muscle and liver to become desensitized to insulin that then causes the pancreas to produce more insulin to counteract these effects.

Professor Watt also stated that the more fat tissue a person has, the less sensitive he or she becomes to insulin. This leads to a greater amount of insulin being required to maintain the regulation of blood glucose in the body.

In addition to showing that not only increasing PEDF causes Type 2 diabetes-like complications, but they were also able to show that blocking this protein reverses these effects. This lets the body return to being insulin sensitive and therefore not needing to produce excess insulin.

According to Professor Watt, scientist already had strong suspicions that a link existed between obesity and Type 2 diabetes, but they did not have a very clear pattern of what this link entailed. With this breakthrough, scientist are now able to explain why obesity triggers the onset of the disease, and with this knowledge can begin to design new drugs to improve the treatment of the disease.

Needless to say, this is great news for those who suffer from Type 2 diabetes, but the professor also said that they already know that the losing of weight generally improves the management of blood glucose levels for those who suffer from the disease.

That being said, regardless of when this drug comes out, eating right and weight loss is always a good prescription for those suffering from Type 2 diabetes. In addition, even if you do not have the disease but are obese, hopefully this information will also inspire you to stay on your weight loss program so that you can lose those Type 2 diabetes-fat-producing PEDF proteins.

Source:
Monash University (2009, July 7). Critical Link Between Obesity And Diabetes Discovered. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 9, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2009/07/090708090917.htm

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