Type 2 diabetes has BMI threshold

BODY mass index is a much more powerful risk factor for Type 2 diabetes than genetics, a new study of almost half a million people has suggested.

Most cases of the disease could either be prevented or reversed if someone’s BMI was kept below their personal cut-off point at which abnormal blood sugar levels are triggered, an expert behind the study said.

Everyone will have a different threshold that puts them at risk of becoming diabetic, explaining why some people with a healthy weight develop the condition and some who are overweight do not, the Cambridge University professor said.

Professor Brian

Ference said the findings of the study could have “significant implications” for the approach to screening for, preventing, treating and even reversing the condition.

The study of 445,765 participants of the UK Biobank created five groups according to genetic risk of diabetes and five groups according to BMI.

Participants had an average age of 57 and were followed up until an average age of 65. During that period 31,298 of them developed Type 2 diabetes.

Those in the highest BMI group had an 11-fold increased risk of diabetes compared to the lowest BMI group and a greater likelihood of developing diabetes than all other BMI groups, regardless of genetic risk.

Investigators also discovered that the length of time a person had a higher BMI did not have an impact on the risk of diabetes.

Prof Ference said: “This suggests that when people cross a certain BMI threshold, their chances of diabetes go up and stay at that same high-risk level regardless of how long they are overweight.”