The connection between obesity and diabetes

Obesity is one of the top causes of type two diabetes. Here's how obesity is determined and how obesity can increase your diabetes risk.

The best approach to weight loss is healthy everyday living: eating well, getting frequent exercise and maintaining a positive, high-energy approach to life. That said, obesity is considered an illness today by the medical community, often requiring more serious intervention beyond improved lifestyle and food choices.

• The scientific community is looking very seriously at better ways to help both overweight people and those who have reached the more serious diagnosis of being clinically obese.
• The medical community considers obesity a major problem, and is working hard at new solutions.

Obesity is defined as an actual medical condition in which you are significantly overweight, and it is jeopardizing your health. When you are obese, you should be treated for your condition by a doctor, like you would for any chronic disease.

• Experts use body mass index (BMI) as the measurement that defines obesity. The BMI calculates your weight compared to your height. A tall, skinny teenager might have a BMI of 15. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered healthy. Overweight is 25 to 29.9. Obesity is defined as having a BMI of 30 or above.
• To put that in perspective, if you're 170 centimetres (5-foot-7), you're obese if you weigh 88.5 kilograms (195 pounds) or more. If you're 180 centimetres (5-foot-11), you're obese if you weigh 95 kilograms (210 pounds) or more.
• Morbid obesity, meaning that you are so overweight that it is seriously jeopardizing your life, is a BMI of 40 or higher: for example, weighing  99 kilograms (218 pounds) or more if you're 157.5 centimetres (5-foot-2) or weighing 141.5 kilograms (311 pounds) or more if you're 188 centimetres (6-foot-2).

Visceral fat, or fat around your waist, is another indicator for diabetes.

• It is most easily checked at home, by wrapping a tape measure around your waist. Your odds for diabetes rise if the results are more than 88 centimetres (34 inches) for women, and 102 centimetres (40 inches) for men.

If you're considered obese, the best way to reduce your diabetes risk is to adopt a healthier lifestyle with diet and exercise. Just be sure to check with your doctor before making any major dietary changes.