Why Can't People With Diabetes Gain Weight?

Nearly 24 million Americans today suffer from diabetes, a disease whose numbers are predicted to double within the next 25 years. Second only to excessive thirst, insatiable hunger with weight loss is a tell-tale sign of this disorder.

Significance

• Diabetes revolves around food, insulin and blood-sugar levels. When non-diabetics eat food, the pancreas releases insulin, a hormone that regulates the blood-sugar levels that rise when food is ingested. The right amount of blood sugar, or glucose, is used to fuel the body, and a person's hunger is satiated.

Features

• In diabetics, the system is thrown out of whack. Insulin is either not made in sufficient amounts, or the body's cells have become resistant to the hormone. The body loses its ability to feed itself, and the excessive glucose is flushed out, excreted in the urine. Knowing it is not being nourished, the body sends repeated hunger signals. But the cycle continues, and weight loss ensues.

Treatment

• Receiving treatment is the only way a diabetic can begin to gain weight again. Daily insulin injections are required, most often with Type 1 diabetes (once referred to as childhood diabetes), to re-regulate glucose levels and trigger weight gain. Type 2 diabetes (increasingly striking children today) can sometimes be reversed with glucose-lowering pills and lifestyle changes.

Considerations

• Once diabetics are diagnosed and treated, they sometimes have become so used to overeating trying to overcome the disease's effects, they start out gaining too much weight on their road to recovery. They need to relearn eating habits, as excessive weight also can sabotage the body's ability to control blood sugar.

Complications

• Diabetes is a serious disorder that can lead to a slew of problems, including eye and kidney dysfunctions, high cholesterol and blood pressure, and stroke and heart disease. Problems with tissue health and circulation can lead to amputation. Adherence to treatment is crucial.