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Men get diabetes at lower BMI than women, study finds
October 04, 2011
Research suggests that men do not need to put on as much weight as women to develop type-2 diabetes.
Men do not have to gain as much weight as women before developing type-2 diabetes, new research suggests.
Scientists at Glasgow University found that the disease tends to develop at a lower body mass index (BMI) in men.
They say that the discovery could help to explain why type-2 diabetes is often more common in men than women.
The research team analysed data on 51,920 men and 43,137 women with type-2 diabetes in Scotland.
They found that men had typically developed diabetes when their BMI was 31.83, while women did not develop the disease until their BMI was 33.69.
Professor Naveed Sattar, whose findings are published in the journal Diabetologia, said: "Previous research has indicated that middle-aged men are at a higher risk of developing diabetes than women and one possible explanation is that men have to gain less weight than women to develop the condition."
Dr Victoria King, head of research at Diabetes UK, said that both men and women should take steps to reduce their chances of developing type-2 diabetes by losing any excess weight, eating a healthy, balanced diet and taking regular exercise.
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