Managing your weight... Diabetes Australia

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Home > Living well with diabetes > Healthy eating...

Managing your weight

Being overweight or obese not only increases your risk of heart disease, stroke, some cancers and gallstones, it also makes diabetes harder to manage.

Often when people are told to lose weight they are given a weight to achieve based on a healthy weight range for their height. For some people this may be a readily achievable goal. However, for many people the weight loss required is large and the goal is often unattainable. Being presented with an unachievable goal will often result in negative emotions and a lack of will to even attempt to improve your body weight.

What is seldom shared with people however is that while achieving your healthy weight range is ideal, there are several benefits achieved by losing only 5-10% of your body weight. Some of the benefits include improving glucose movement into the cells and making your body’s insulin work better. All this results in improved blood glucose levels (BGLs). It also has numerous heart health benefits such as improved blood pressure and cholesterol.

What shape are you?
However, it’s where your body weight is distributed which is more important to your health. We commonly refer to body shapes as either “apple” or a pear” shaped.

Apple shaped people carry most of their weight around the centre of their body. Excess weight stored around the centre is associated with insulin resistance (your insulin is less efficient resulting in higher BGLs), high blood pressure and high blood fats like cholesterol.

Pear shaped people carry most of their weight around the hips and buttocks. Excess weight stored in this area does not have the negative health effects as that of an apple shape.

However waist circumference, regardless of your body shape, has shown to be the greatest indicator for disease risk.

The risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease is increased for men with a waist circumference above 94cm, and women with a waist circumference above 80cm. If your weight is staying the same but you notice a decrease around the waist, don’t be disheartened, your heath IS improving! Every centimeter lost from your waist is an improvement to your health.

Maintaining a healthy body weight and shape is important in keeping you healthy. Try to stay positive and remember to celebrate the small achievements, every bit helps. It’s also essential that you participate in regular physical activity and follow healthy eating guidelines if you wish to manage your weight.

For more advice on weight loss, see an Accredited Practicing Dietitian or speak to one of our dietitians at Diabetes Australia on 1300 136 588 and ask for our fact sheet on weight loss. To help boost your activity levels, take a look at our Healthy Activity Kit.

Page last updated: 17 March 2008