If you gain more weight than you were genetically born with, your risk for diabetes increases up to three times.

A study showed that the risk of diabetes increases when the measured body mass index (BMI) is higher than the genetically predicted body mass index (BMI ). In particular, it was shown for Koreans, if the gap between the body mass index is higher than the genetic prediction and the gap widens, the risk of diabetes goes up to three times.

On the 7th, the research team of Professor Soo-heon Kwak from the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Seoul National University Hospital and Professor Tae-min Lee from the Department of Cardiology at the Gangnam Center announced the results of an analysis on the effect of body mass index on the risk of developing type 2 diabetes based on domestic and foreign clinical data of approximately 450,000 people. The researchers calculated a ‘genetic body mass index’, which refers to the predictive value of genetically inherited obesity and its degree, based on whole-genome DNA data. After that, we used cohort data from Korea (74,233 people from the Korean Genome Epidemiology Survey Project) and the UK (383,160 people from UK Biobank) to determine the extent to which the difference between index Genetic body mass and calculated body mass index associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes determined through . The results of this study were published in ‘Diabetes Care’, an international journal in the field of diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes, also known as adult-onset diabetes, is a disease in which blood sugar levels rise abnormally due to a decrease in the ability or action of insulin to regulate blood sugar levels. To determine obesity, which is the main risk factor for this disease, the body mass index is usually used, which is the weight (kg) divided by the square of the height (m) . However, compared to Europeans, East Asians tend to develop type 2 diabetes even in overweight populations with a low body mass index, which makes it difficult to accurately predict diabetes risk using body mass index alone.

Therefore, the researchers conducted a study focusing on the difference between genetic body index and real body index. As a result, it was found that the risk of type 2 diabetes increased significantly because the body mass index was greater than the genetic prediction. On the other hand, a tendency to reduce the risk of developing the disease was seen when the body mass index was lower than the genetic prediction. In addition, as a result of comparing the study subjects by dividing them into five levels according to the difference between the genetic and actual body mass index, the group had an actual body among Koreans whose actual body mass index exceeded the genetic prediction to the greatest extent. Mass index lower than the genetic prediction The risk of diabetes was about three times higher than that in the group. In particular, for women, this risk increases approximately four times. This correlation was similar to the British data, but the increase in risk was lower than that of Koreans, at about 1.6 times.

As a result of a more detailed analysis of the difference between the genetic and actual body mass index that focused only on Koreans, it was found that the actual body mass index was higher than the pre- The higher the genetic predisposition, the higher the insulin resistance. If insulin resistance is high, the cells in the body do not respond well to insulin, which regulates blood sugar, and blood sugar levels rise easily. These research results suggest that even if the body mass index alone does not correspond to obesity, the risk of diabetes may still be high if the condition is higher than the level that it is genetically expected.

The researchers said that in order to prevent diabetes, it may be helpful to establish a personalized weight management strategy that takes into account genetically predisposed levels of obesity. Professor Kwak Soo-heon said, “The results of this study are important because they show that the difference between a genetically predicted body mass index and a body mass goals that are calculated to be an indicator for selecting high-risk groups for diabetes,” says, “According to individual weight goals, “We will be able to prevent diabetes effectively through the realization of precision medicine that manages lifestyle habits,” he said.