Most of us already know that obesity can be a trigger for diabetes, but have you heard about the latest link? If you have short legs, you might be at a greater risk for the disease. Being short, you’ve probably resigned yourself to never becoming a basketball star, but I bet you didn’t realize that your stature actually was a factor in developing diabetes.
Diabetes is a disease that is on the rise. According to the American Diabetes Association, seven percent of the U.S. population has the condition — that’s 20.8 million people! Out of this number, 6.2 million people are dangerously unaware of their condition. “Insulin” is the key word when we’re talking about diabetes — basically, in a diabetic, the body either does not create proper amounts of this substance or it fails to use it efficiently.
Insulin, which is a hormone, has an important role in the body’s energy cycle: it helps blood glucose enter your cells, where it is used as fuel. All your body’s functions require this fuel; that’s why diabetes is such a serious condition.
This latest study, out of John Hopkins University in Maryland, gives us another clue to aid in the diagnosis and, eventually, prevention of the disease. The researchers analyzed a cross-section of subjects from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988- 1994). There were 7,424 subjects, male and female, between the ages of 40 and 74.
The scientists were looking for relationships between height, percentage of body fat, and insulin resistance or glucose intolerance in two pre-diabetic conditions.
The researchers found that people who were shorter, had shorter legs, and had a lower leg-to-height ratio had more body fat and were more likely to develop diabetes. The lower “leg-to-height ratio” just means that the legs are not in proportion to the rest of the body.
This finding was much more prevalent in the women, although men displayed it as well. In addition, women with a lower leg-to-height ratio who did not have diabetes were more likely to be insulin resistant.
However, don’t blame your legs. Their length or proportion to your body is just an indicator, not a cause. The researchers noted that people with shorter legs or with a lower leg-to-height ratio probably did not have the proper nutrition during childhood. This would have had an effect on their entire physical development; including whatever it is that influences the proper production and functioning of insulin within the body.
So, this study has two messages: 1) diabetes prevention needs to start with kids — they need to eat a full and well-balanced diet; and 2) if you have short legs, you need to get tested for diabetes and pre-diabetic conditions. The sooner you catch one of these blood sugar conditions, the easier it is to manage. And don’t forget all that stuff we already know: the sooner you start on a healthy diet, along with an exercise regime, the lower your risk for diabetes could be.
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Tags: exercise, glucose
