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Diabetics with a healthy weight are twice as likely to be at risk of dying
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Scientists from Northwestern University in Chicago came to a paradoxical conclusion. They found that people with normal weight who have type 2 diabetes are more likely to die prematurely than those who are overweight.
Having extra pounds has never been considered a health benefit. It is they that most often lead a person to develop type 2 diabetes. But if the disease has already taken hold, then extra pounds, it turns out, can come in handy. American researchers have found that diabetics with a healthy weight are more than twice as likely to die from heart disease and other causes than their peers with extra pounds.
Type 2 diabetes can also develop in people with normal weight - they are the ones who are at particular risk. Researchers observed a group of diabetics, every eighth of whom had never encountered the problem of extra pounds. It turned out that diabetes develops more aggressively in their bodies.
"We were surprised to learn that people with type 2 diabetes and normal weight were significantly more likely to die than other diabetics," said study author Dr. Mercedes Carnethon. "Being overweight and obese may provide some protection for diabetics in the final stages of kidney and heart disease. This is the so-called obesity paradox."
However, Dr. Carnethon hastened to add that the disadvantages of excess weight and obesity far outweigh the advantages mentioned above. Extra pounds are associated with the development of many diseases - from heart attacks and strokes to cancer. And one of the most effective ways to treat type 2 diabetes for people with obesity is still losing weight.
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