If You Think Thin People Don’t Get Diabetes, Think Again!

What body types are linked with a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes?

Question: Which of these four body types is/are linked with a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes?

Scroll down to check your answers.

We know that being overweight or obese puts one at a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes.

What we may not know is that people who looked thin can and do get Type 2 diabetes. In this article, you will find out why. You will also learn how to use waist circumference to measure central obesity.

Thin on the Outside but Fat on the Inside

Asians have a "thrifty" phenotype (body type) which means their bodies are made to store extra energy from the food they eat in the form of fat.

The excess fat tends to collect in the abdomen (belly). Since belly fat is found deep inside the body and surrounds internal organs, such as the liver and kidneys, the Asian person can look trim and yet have a higher body fat compared to the Caucasian. Indeed, for the same body mass index (BMI), Asians with higher body fat are more likely to develop diabetes compared to Caucasians.

As the person looks fat around the centre of the body, we refer to it as "central obesity" or an "apple" body type. There is a strong link between central obesity and diseases like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.

That is why the correct answers to the question are: B, C, and D.

Although the person in B looks trim, she is centrally obese and may still be at risk of Type 2 diabetes.

The persons in C and D are overweight and are at higher risk of Type 2 diabetes than the person in A, who has a healthy weight and is not centrally obese.