1 in 5 Diabetics is 100 Pounds Overweight

A Loyola University Health System study has found that one out of five Type 2 diabetics is morbidly obese -- approximately 100 pounds or more overweight.

Researchers reported that 62.4 percent of U.S. adults with Type 2 diabetes are obese, and 20.7 percent are morbidly obese. Among African American adults with Type 2 diabetes, 1 in 3 is morbidly obese.

"The rate of morbid obesity among people with diabetes is increasing at a very alarming rate, and this has substantial public health implications," said Holly Kramer, MD, a kidney specialist and lead author of the study published in the Journal of Diabetes and its Complications.

Dr. Kramer and colleagues examined data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys completed during the years 1976 to 2006.

Between the survey periods 1976-1980 and 2005-2006, there was a 141 percent increase in the rate of morbid obesity among adults with Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes.

Morbid obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) greater than 40. BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. For example, a 5-foot-2-inch adult with a 40 BMI weighs 218 pounds (82 pounds overweight), while a 6-foot-2-inch adult with a 40 BMI weighs 311 pounds (117 pounds overweight).