Alarming increase in diabetics' obesity

CHICAGO, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- One in five of those with type 2 diabetes is about 100 pounds overweight, U.S. researchers found.

Researchers at Loyola University Health System report 62.4 percent of U.S. adults with type 2 diabetes are obese and 20.7 percent are morbidly obese -- more than 100 pounds heavier than ideal body weight, or have a body ass index of more than 40. Among African-American adults with type 2 diabetes, one in three is morbidly obese.

"The rate of morbid obesity among people with diabetes is increasing at a very alarming rate and this has substantial public health implications," lead author Dr. Holly Kramer said in a statement.

Kramer and colleagues examined data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys that included interviews and physical examinations for the representative samples of the U.S. population completed from l976-2006. The researchers found a 141 percent increase in the rate of morbid obesity in type 2 diabetes between survey periods 1976-1980 and 2005-2006.

Morbid obesity was defined as having a body mass index -- a measure of body fat based on height and weight -- greater than 40.

The study findings are published online in the Journal of Diabetes and its Complications.