Obesity alone does not lead to early death or critical illnesses but the risk increases if a patient has diabetes, experts have said. The link between obesity and type 2 diabetes is well established but now researchers insist that obesity alone is not a predictor of life-threatening illness or early death.
Diabetes, strongly linked to obesity, trebles the risk of patients dying young.
The University of Kentucky, after studying 15,408 patients, said: “It suggests obesity by itself is not a significant predictor of death.” Diabetes UK warned that 80 per cent of type-2 diabetes sufferers are overweight.
The experts concluded: “Our findings suggest that obesity by itself is not a significant predictor of either acute organ failure or death during or after acute organ failure in this cohort.
“However, the presence of (diabetes), which is related to obesity, is a strong predictor of both acute organ failure and death after acute organ failure.”
Zoe Harrison, care advisor at the charity Diabetes UK, said most people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were overweight. She said: “This research clearly highlights how serious diabetes can be. The complications of diabetes include strokes, kidney damage, amputations, nerve damage and blindness.