Size protects against diabetes

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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Small people are more likely to develop diabetes than large people. The liver plays a central role in this amazing phenomenon - and it can be armored.

When considering the risk factors for type 2 diabetes, the first thing to think about is weight. In fact, overweight people are far more likely to develop this form of diabetes than people of normal weight.

Every inch counts

An evaluation of the so-called EPIC study now shows that body size also influences the risk of diabetes - and indeed significantly: for women it is reduced by 33 percent with every ten additional centimeters, for men by as much as 41 percent. This calculation already takes into account other risk factors such as waist size, education and lifestyle factors such as smoking and physical activity.

Better insulin sensitivity, better beta cell function

Previous studies had already shown that taller people tend to have better insulin sensitivity and beta cell function - both of which are central to healthy sugar metabolism.

The role of the liver

The reason for this could be that tall people store less fat in the organs - for example in the liver. Such fat deposits impair the body's cells' sensitivity to insulin - they can then absorb sugar less well. “That could be a key to explain the connection between body size and diabetes risk,” the researchers write.

Cardiometabolic Risk Factors

But other factors also seem to play a role in the phenomenon. Larger people often have a more favorable profile of so-called cardiometabolic risk factors. For example, they have lower levels of triglycerides, which promote arteriosclerosis and are often elevated in diabetics.

In addition, the c-reactive protein (CRP) levels are lower in tall people. This is an inflammation marker that indicates, among other things, an increased risk of heart attack and diabetes. On the other hand, tall people have higher levels of adiponectin in their blood. This hormone favors the action of the insulin on the fat cells.

No direct connection

"Our data suggest that body size probably does not have a direct impact on the risk of diabetes, but is an important mediator through the fat content of the liver and other cardiometabolic risk factors," the researchers conclude.

For the investigation, the scientists led by Clemens Wittenbecher from the German Institute for Nutritional Research in Potsdam-Rehbrücke had access to data and blood samples from more than 26,000 participants, 870 of whom developed diabetes over the course of seven years. The researchers focused on a representative group of 2,029 men and women, 65 of whom fell ill.

Targeted breakdown of liver fat

The scientists recommend that doctors consider small body size as an additional risk factor for diabetes in the future. Blood sugar levels should therefore be checked regularly in young people. It is also particularly worthwhile for patients to reduce the amount of fat in the liver and thus lower the risk of diabetes.

In order to specifically reduce liver fat, doctors advise: