Health
In reply to the discussion: 9 Reasons To Avoid Sugar As If Your Life Depended On It [View all]ErikJ
(6,335 posts)In this article were going to talk about the mirror reflection of the MHO: the metabolically unhealthy nonobese (MUN). These are lean people with either full-fledged type 2 diabetes or some metabolic dysfunction, such as insulin resistance.
You might even be surprised to learn that skinny people can and do get T2DM. They are rarely mentioned in the media, and there isnt much written about them in the scientific literature. Perhaps these folks have been overlooked because type 2 diabetes has been historically viewed as a disease of gluttony and sloth, a self-inflicted outcome of eating too much and not and not exercising enough. But the very existence of the MUN phenotype proves that theres more to T2DM than overeating and a sedentary lifestyle.
Remember that one in three type 2 diabetics are undiagnosed. Its possible that a significant number of these people that are lean. They dont suspect they might have T2DM because theyre under the impression that its not a condition that affects thin people. This is one of the biggest dangers of the myth that only fat people get diabetes.
Its well-known that high blood sugar can precede the development of T2DM for as long as ten years. It is during this time that many of the complications associated with diabetes nerve damage, retinal changes, and early signs of kidney deterioration begin to develop. This is why its just as important for lean people to maintain healthy blood sugar as it is for the overweight and obese.
http://chriskresser.com/think-skinny-people-dont-get-type-2-diabetes-think-again