DOHA: A Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) researcher has found that overweight type 2 diabetics live longer than those of normal weight.
Dr Stephen Atkin’s (pictured) study, ‘The Obesity Paradox in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Relationship of Body Mass Index to Prognosis: A Cohort Study’, has been published in the academic journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
The research found that although overweight patients had a higher chance of having a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, they were three times less likely to die of such an event than patients of normal weight, while patients with low body weight had the highest mortality risk.
The phenomenon, known as ‘obesity paradox,’ was investigated by earlier studies, but none was based on such comprehensive, long-term data as Dr Atkin’s research, which involved analysis of medical records of 10,568 type-2 diabetics tracked for an average of about 11 years.
Overweight is a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9, while normal weight is a BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9. Obese people have a BMI of 30 or above.
Dr Atkin said, “No one knows why obesity paradox exists, but now that it has been identified, it opens up potential avenues for new research that could enhance our understanding of diabetes and how to manage it more effectively.”
Despite the findings, the advice for diabetics to maintain a healthy weight has not changed, he said.
“The fact remains that overweight patients are more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke, so doctors still recommend they try to maintain a weight within the normal range. Prevention is still better than a cure.”
Dr Atkin, who joined WCMC-Q as Professor of Medicine in 2014, led the research in partnership with Dr Pierluigi Costanzo, a former colleague at University of Hull in the UK.
Dr Atkin has established a laboratory at WCMC-Q, researching insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease risk that characterise polycystic ovary syndrome, pre-diabetes, obesity and type-2 diabetes.
WCMC-Q is committed to focusing research efforts on diseases particularly relevant to Qatar and the Gulf, including diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease, among others.
The Peninsula
