| The Effects of Weight and Diabetes According to Dr. Simeon Margolis, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine and biological chemistry at The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Obesity increases the risk of diabetes, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, high blood triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, osteoarthritis, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea and colorectal cancer. Although the exact mechanism varies with the complicating disease, in general, obesity interferes with the action of insulin, the hormone that regulates the level of glucose in the blood. Tissues become insulin- resistant, which causes the pancreas to have pump out larger and larger amounts of the hormone. It’s thought that high insulin levels adversely affect blood vessels, raise blood triglycerides, lowers HDL cholesterol, and may cause hypertension. If the pancreas wears out because it can’t keep making all that insulin, the person gets diabetes. According to Dr. Margolis: Many studies show that hyperinsulinemia- or high blood insulin levels- can put people at risk for high blood pressure and heart disease. High blood insulin hastens the development of atherosclerosis and enhances the formation of blood clots. This combination may block a blood vessel and cause an ischemic stroke.. |
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