The Relationship between Weight Loss and Diabetes

There are two ways to diabetes in regards to weight, either your weight affects diabetes or diabetes affects your weight. Whichever one happens depends on the type of diabetes that affects the patient.

Diabetes is a condition that develops when the pancreas fails to produce sufficient insulin, or when the body is not responding properly to the effects of insulin in the body. Most existing forms of diabetes are chronic and lifelong, the various existing forms are usually manageable with lifestyle changes or medications.

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Before jumping into weight loss and how it is relative to diabetes, let's check out the existing types of diabetes we have:
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the body begins to attack and destroy existing cells that are supposed to produce insulin in the body. Type 1 diabetes can spring up at any point in a man's life.

Gestational diabetes happens during pregnancy. It usually goes away after pregnancy, but the possibility of having type 2 diabetes later in life is still there.

Prediabetes happens before the stage two type of diabetes, this type makes the blood glucose level higher than it should be, but not high enough for it to be officially termed, type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes doesn't make the body produce sufficient insulin, or the body doesn't respond normally to insulin. Type 2 diabetes is the most common type that exists, it is more common amongst adults, but doesn't leave out children as well.

Aside from the mentioned major ones, other forms of diabetes exist, but are not so common; type 3c diabetes, latent autoimmune diabetes in adults, maturity-onset diabetes of the young, brittle diabetes, and neonatal diabetes. The explanations of these other forms of diabetes would have to be postponed until another day, so we can focus on the main topic of the day.

People who have type 1 diabetes may experience unintentional weight loss since the sugar they consume cannot be used for energy. In this situation, the pancreas is unable to make insulin, and sugar is eliminated from the body during urination.

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Although, there are many other reasons why a person may experience rapid weight loss diabetes is one of the most popular reasons. Both type 1 and 2 diabetes can be accompanied by abnormal weight loss, but it is more common amongst type 1 diabetes.

There are two main reasons for unplanned weight loss with diabetes, when glucose is not available as an energy source, cells and tissues begin to consume the muscle and fat that have been stored to meet energy requirements. Excessive blood sugar remaining in the body would be excreted through urine leading to calorie loss.

Weight loss is also triggered when the kidney begins to work extra hard to produce more urine and get rid of the high blood sugar levels present in the body. If the water lost from the body is not replaced, the affected patient will feel dehydrated.

In addition to that, the cell gets deprived of water, and urine is increased, which is harmful to the cells, this gives the kidney the room to use more energy, significantly contributing to weight loss.

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A few loss of pounds when ill is almost normal, but when you are experiencing a major drop in pounds without a major diet to exercise routine or diet change, then that's no longer normal.

Experiencing weight loss as a symptom of diabetes is a thing to watch out for, but apart from that, there are other symptoms like; yeast infections, itchy skin, excessive urination, dear skin around the neck and armpits, unusual fatigue, and vision changes.

Unexplained weight loss isn't normal at all, it may not only be an indication of diabetes, but it may be a sign of other health issues like gastrointestinal tract, metabolism, or thyroid issues.

If diabetes is the only reason why weight loss is happening, your doctor may recommend supplemental insulin treatments or other forms of medication to ensure that the blood sugar normalizes.

Generally, affected patients are advised to eat more regular meals and snacks, ensuring that protein is a great part of it. Fruits, milkshakes, and other high-energy drinks are also very important, but most importantly, you have to speak with your physician about the options you are trying to opt for.

For Further Studies.

https://www.africanjournalofdiabetesmedicine.com/articles/reasons-for-unexplainable-weight-loss-among-diabetics.pdf

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-you-should-know-about-unexplained-weight-loss-and-diabetes

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/7104-diabetes

https://www.healthline.com/health/diabetes/diabetes-weight-loss#unexpected-weight-loss

https://www.health.tas.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-11/How_to_gain_weight_with_type_2_diabetes.pdf

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/in-depth/diabetes-diet/art-20044295

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Hi, I am Tobi, a writer, speaker, relationship blogger, and lover of good music. I love making friends and learning from people. If you want to hear me speak about relationships and general life issues, you can find my YouTube channel where you can watch any episode for free, please do not forget to subscribe, friends. I sincerely appreciate every love I get from here, Kindly do well to keep them coming.