Three out of ten (diabetic) patients have protruding bellies… How do they manage it?

The management of obesity in diabetic patients is facing a critical challenge. According to the Korean Diabetes Association's "Diabetes Fact Sheet 2024," half (53.8%) of diabetic patients are obese, and 61.2% of them have abdominal obesity. Since weight is a key factor in determining diabetes prognosis, appropriate treatment is essential. How should we manage obesity and diabetes?

 

 

1. Obesity and diabetes have a negative impact on each other, and abdominal obesity is particularly fatal.

2. After reviewing your eating habits, limit your calorie intake and exercise!

 

Obesity and diabetes have a mutually detrimental effect.

Obesity and diabetes are closely linked. While they pose health risks individually, the simultaneous development of both conditions is even more devastating. Obese individuals are four to six times more likely to develop diabetes than those of normal weight, and obese individuals with diabetes have a worse prognosis than those of normal weight.

When body fat accumulates, it also accumulates in the cells where insulin is produced, causing inflammation and triggering insulin resistance. Insulin resistance occurs when the body fails to properly utilize insulin, no matter how much insulin is produced by the pancreas. The higher the insulin resistance, the more difficult it is to manage blood sugar and the less responsive it is to treatment. Poor blood sugar control increases the risk of developing microvascular and macrovascular complications.

 

Choi Seong-hee, Public Relations Director of the Korean Diabetes Association (Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital) said, “In cases of obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and kidney function deteriorate rapidly, so patients who already have hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and proteinuria, or who have a history of myocardial infarction, stroke, or arteriosclerosis, should manage their obesity more thoroughly.”

 

Obesity with a 'protruding belly' is more fatal

The problem is even more serious for diabetic patients with abdominal obesity. Abdominal obesity is defined as a waist circumference of 90 cm or more for men and 85 cm or more for women. Fat can be divided into fat that accumulates under the skin and fat that accumulates within or between organs, the latter having a more direct impact on health. As abdominal fat accumulates, the resulting excess space increases, making it more prone to the accumulation of visceral fat.

 

Excessive visceral fat increases insulin resistance, hindering blood sugar control and fat breakdown. Furthermore, when fat continues to accumulate and has no place to accumulate, ectopic fat accumulates directly in organs like the pancreas and muscles. When ectopic fat accumulates in the pancreas, it reduces insulin secretion and further increases insulin resistance. Naturally, this also increases the risk of complications.

 

 

A study from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, found that increasing abdominal fat percentage, regardless of other obesity-related indices, increases the risk of developing ophthalmic complications. A joint study by Asan Medical Center and Soongsil University in Seoul found that abdominal obesity in diabetic patients increased the risk of developing glioma by up to 37%.

 

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Aerobic exercise includes ▲brisk walking ▲cycling ▲swimming, etc.

Choose the type that you can safely practice consistently.

Pull your stomach in so that your belly button touches your back.

I recommend a drawing exercise that involves applying force and holding the position for about 30 seconds.

 

This is my first time hearing about the draw-in movement.

Is it holding your breath while holding your stomach?

I'll have to look it up