Diet, get rid of that fat, and the diabetes goes away.

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People who carry excess weight, especially in their midsection, are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes because the fat in their tissues causes an imbalance of insulin in the body.

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Gaining too much weight is a major contributor to Type 2 diabetes, since excess fat cells can affect the way the body breaks down glucose and produces insulin, but some normal weight individuals can develop the disease as well.

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Dr Shulman added that the reduction could be a contributing factor to the development of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes because of its effect on fat burning and mitochondria production.

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"I had really got out of shape, got a lot of body fat and was heading down a disastrous course of diabetes and heart disease, " he says.

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In contrast to BMI, which reflects overall fat distribution, waist girth, which measures belly fat, is a better predictor of poor health outcomes such as diabetes and heart disease.

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Prevalent in the UK, the US and Australia, obesity is linked to diabetes, which can be connected to a build up of fat in the liver.

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In comparison, carrying excess fat around the stomach, being "apple shaped", raises the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

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Because many of the thin diabetes patients included in the new study were elderly, they likely had less muscle mass and more fat.

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There is strong scientific evidence that excess body fat is a risk factor for cancer, as well as other non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

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