Diseases Linked to Obesity and Insulin Resistance:

Diabetes, Heart Disease and Asthma
posted 01/30/03

By Fred Pescatore, MD, Thin For Good 

The diseases linked to obesity and insulin resistance now make up 4 of the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States.  Before we discuss these diseases and what we can do about them, it is necessary to first define what obesity really is.  This is an important step because when you read statistics and try to interpret studies, these are the definitions used.  In order to make judgments based on studies, the definitions have to be understood first. 

The measure used to define obesity is the Body Mass Index, or BMI.  It is a measure of height, weight, and disease risk.  In order to calculate your BMI, simply take your weight in pounds and multiply it by 703.  Then take your height in inches and square that number; then, divide the two.  A person with a BMI greater than 25 is considered overweight and one with a BMI greater than 30 is considered obese.  

The number of overweight and obese people is staggering and the numbers have been dramatically rising in the past couple of decades.  According to the latest statistics, 80% of all Americans over the age of 25 are overweight; and, 60% of all Americans when you include children.    33% of all children are overweight too.  The percentages are bad enough, but when you look at raw numbers, that translates into 145 million adults, and 18 million kids.  We are in the midst of a true epidemic. 

Despite Americans being more health conscious than ever before and despite an increased awareness of nutrition, this epidemic has flourished.  To see how that could have occurred, it is necessary to examine some of the nutrition trends of the past twenty years.  

The first one and probably the most damaging is the low fat phenomenon.  Since this theory was espoused as gospel truth and thoroughly embraced by the medical establishment, the statistics on overweight and obesity have risen dramatically.  Either it wasn’t the correct message which is what I am inclined to believe, or the message was just not heard correctly.  This trend encouraged people to eat all they wanted so long as it was fat-free.  The belief of not eating fat equating with not being fat was incorrectly sold to the American public.  Fats are an important component of any diet.  In another chapter in this ongoing series, the role of fats in our diet will be thoroughly explored.  The only ones who benefited from our flirtation with a low-fat lifestyle were the food manufacturers.  Every food that was not naturally low in fat had to be artificially manufactured – leading to a booming industry.

The USDA food pyramid was another disastrous attempt by the federal government to tell us how we should be eating. It is not entirely the government’s fault in this situation because; the USDA exists to serve the agriculture industry.  It did a great job of promoting grain products and getting us to eat more agricultural products – good for big agribusiness, but not our waistlines. 

The USDA food pyramid has too much emphasis on grains and almost no emphasis placed on the nutritional values of various types of foods.  All categories of foods, despite their nutritional value are lumped together.  The recommendation of 6 to 11 servings of grains per day, without taking into account that certain grains, such as brown rice and whole grain cereals, have a much more positive impact on health and blood sugar regulation, than do simple carbohydrates, such as pretzels and bagels.  The USDA food pyramid is the pyramid that food lobbyists built, not science.  It should be treated as such and not taken as proper diet dictum. 

The most recent trend in dieting is the high fat, low carbohydrate approach.  This way of dieting has been with us since the mid to late 1800’s and was quite fashionable then.  It had another bout of popularity in the early 1970’s, and again now.  As the author of a low carbohydrate diet book called Thin For Good, I am certainly a proponent of restricting carbohydrate consumption.  However, I am not a proponent of severe carbohydrate restriction such as the many popular diet programs currently on the best seller lists. If severely restricting carbohydrates was the answer, this health care epidemic could have been avoided, given that fact that these programs have been popular for almost a decade now. Again, either someone is not getting the message, or this message too is wrong. 

All of these popular programs allow the consumer to eat what they want, as long as it isn’t fat, or carbohydrates.  The programs never take into account the differences between good fats vs. bad fats; good carbohydrates vs. bad carbohydrates; sugars vs. fiber; etc.  There is so much good science to back a claim for eating a healthy diet balanced with good fats, non-processed foods, whole grains and no sugars that it is astonishing that we aren’t encouraged to eat in such a way.  This is especially true in diabetics where a diet higher in monounsaturated fats and moderate consumption of healthy whole grains was shown to lower blood sugar.  Yet, according to official diet dictum, diabetics are encouraged to eat as many carbohydrates and sugars as they want, but to only watch the fat.  

Luckily, there has recently been an increase in an awareness of healthy fats, healthy carbohydrates, and more and more people are becoming aware of the dangers of sugar.  In fact, the American Heart Association just released a statement on the connection between sugar and cardiovascular disease – a big first step for them, considering they consider Pop Tarts as Heart Healthy foods because of its low fat content. 

It is vitally important to come to terms with the fact that there are no black and whites in the arena of nutrition. Everything we do and everything we eat plays a significant role in our health.  Given the rise of diabetes and obesity, it is necessary to question the role of processed foods and sugars in our diet.  This obesity and health crisis is not strictly the fault of the fast food establishments.  There are many culprits. 

Obesity and being overweight are directly related to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, certain cancers, asthma, and mortality.  In a recent study, men as young as 40 were shown to decrease their life expectance by up to four years depending on how overweight they were.

Being overweight or obese exacerbates high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, gallstones, cholesterol disorders, and musculo-skeletal problems.  There are many more than these, but these are probably the most common and certainly some of the most deadly.  In fact, 4 of the top 10 leading causes of death are directly attributable to being overweight. 

In our next segment, the link between sugar consumption and cardiovascular health and diabetes will be more closely examined.  Stay tuned. 

Source: Diabetes In Control Dot Com: Thin For Good.

January 2003 News Article Index

 

Home - Table of Contents - Donate Now - About Diabetes - Warning Signs - Complications - Screening Test - Diabetes Terms - Site Search - Meet Mr. Diabetes®  -  Wake Up And Walk® Tour - Latest News - Headlines & News Stories - Health & Fitness - About Us - FAQ - Research Form - -  Message Board - Privacy Policy - Legal Notices - How to Contact Us - Comments form - Suggestion Form - Our E-Mail Addresses - Our Address and Phone Numbers - Links - Contact Us