Obesity and Type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic illness that causes blood sugar levels to be higher than normal.

After most people eat, their bodies break down food into glucose and other nutrients. Eating triggers the pancreas to create a hormone called insulin, which helps release glucose into the bloodstream.

In type 2 diabetes, the body becomes resistant to insulin. This means it becomes less effective in managing the blood glucose levels.

The pancreas tries to help by producing more and more insulin. However, over time, the pancreas wears out.

It’s estimated that by the time a person is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, they’ve lost 50 – 70% of the insulin-producing cells in their pancreas¹.

There is a strong link between obesity and type 2 diabetes, as obesity is a leading risk factor for diabetes².

For example, if you’re a woman with a BMI of over 30 kg/m², you have a 28 times greater risk of developing diabetes than a woman with a healthy BMI².

Over half (53%) of diabetes in Australia is because of excess weight³.

You have a higher risk of developing diabetes if it runs in your family. It’s also more common in people from Pacific Island, Indian subcontinent, Chinese cultural, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander backgrounds¹.

You may be at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes if you have high blood pressure, have a poor diet, don’t get enough exercise and are overweight¹.

Diabetes can affect many parts of your body. People with diabetes are more likely to experience heart, kidney and vision problems. Amputations are also much more common with people with diabetes⁴.

Many people with diabetes also suffer from mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression⁴.

Unfortunately, type 2 diabetes can’t be cured, but you can manage it with healthy eating, exercise and medications.

Sometimes you can go into remission. According to Diabetes Australia, people have gone into remission after intensive dietary change or bariatric surgery. They say remission is more likely within the first few years of diagnosis with type 2 diabetes⁵.

Weight loss studies have shown a significant proportion of people were still in diabetes remission even 7 to 10 years after their surgery ^{6 7 8}.