It's relatively common knowledge that body weight is associated with the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, but the recently revealed link between weight and diabetes-related mortality has many people scratching their heads.
According to new research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, people who have Type 2 diabetes and are overweight live longer than patients whose body mass index categorizes them as obese, normal or low weight.
Researchers collected all-cause mortality and cardiovascular morbidity information on more than 10,500 patients with Type 2 diabetes (and without known cardiovascular disease), as well as their BMI, for a span of roughly 10 years.
They found overweight or obese patients had a higher rate of cardiac events — including acute coronary syndrome and heart failure — than those of normal weight. However, being overweight was also associated with a lower mortality risk than obese patients and normal-weight patients, whose mortality risks were similar. Additionally, patients with low body weight had the worst prognosis.
The study authors referred to their findings on diabetes-related mortality rates as the "obesity paradox."
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