Connection Between Sedentary Lifestyle and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Published on May 30, 2016 and last reviewed on Oct 11, 2022 - 3 min read
Abstract
Did you know that your eating habits can disturb the body's function and can play a role in causing diabetes? This article tells you more about the causes and ways to prevent diabetes.
Our body uses the glucose with the help of insulin, which is synthesized in the pancreas and acts on the cell receptors, so that glucose gets entry into the cell for consumption. Diabetes is a disorder in which body is not able to use the glucose efficiently.
Once diabetes was considered as a disease of rich people, but nowadays it is seen in all classes of general population. One of the major causes of type 2 diabetes mellitus is wrong eating habits.
Foundation Period of Diabetes
Just after the infancy period, mothers starts giving sweet products to their kids. The children become used to sweets and products high in sugar. It is seen that this is the time from which pro-glucose imbalance starts settling in the form of frequent insulin fluctuations and is the foundation period of diabetes mellitus type 2.
Role of Insulin:
When a food product is consumed, it is initially absorbed by GIT system. Then it reaches the blood and through which it will be available to pancreas and so insulin is secreted. Here, it is important to understand that in the blood there is always a constant amount of insulin. It is known as base levels of insulin. In response to food products it peaks in few hours and return back to base level in approximately 3 to 4 hours after consumption of food.
For a healthy metabolism, the insulin should reach to normal base levels after meals. But, unfortunately insulin hardly comes to base levels in most of the people nowadays, because they eat so frequently. Here, meal means everything which is eaten except plain water. Even a cup of tea is a meal, because it will cause a spike in insulin level. Ideally a person should eat three times a day and there should be a gap of at least 5 to 6 hours between meals, so that insulin could reach to normal base levels.
Hyperglycemia:
If a person keeps following frequent intake of meals, which causes hyperinsulinemia and at the same time the person is not so much physically active, then the blood sugar is not used. Also, we can say that it is not required by the cells and remains in blood causing hyperglycemia. As a result, our smart body starts down regulation of insulin receptors, which means a decrease in the number of insulin receptors. So, down regulation of insulin receptors occur as a result of inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle.
As the number of insulin receptors decreases, there is hyperglycemia in blood and most of the times for a sustained period after meals which is simply the starting phase of this disorder. This decrease in insulin receptors is a reversible condition for few years. If a person starts doing exercise in this phase, then again a phenomenon of up regulation is possible in which the normal number of receptors is restored in response to exercise. But, if the down regulation of insulin receptors remains as such for a few years, then permanent loss of receptors occurs and diabetes gets settled into body.
Why Diabetic People Always Feel Hungry?
People who are having high levels of insulin often feel hungry and keep eating. In our body there are two hormones, one is to start hunger and the other is for satiety. They are ghrelin and leptin respectively. Insulin is structurally similar to leptin. So, if a person having frequent high levels of insulin, then this insulin blocks those receptors in central nervous system on which usually leptin works and satiety is not felt. As a result a person does not feel satiety and eats more and produces more insulin, which again produces more hunger by not getting satiety. So, it is a vicious cycle which is very dangerous for the metabolism and is a main part in diabetes mellitus 2.
How to Prevent Diabetes?
As a preventive value I would emphasize that a person who is prediabetic still or is healthy,
- Should take their meals 3 to 4 times daily, strictly and should consume only water in between.
- Should exercise regularly to keep the insulin receptors in adequate numbers.
The above mentioned two things are important in preventing type 2 diabetes mellitus.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1.
How Is Blood Sugar Affected by a Sedentary Lifestyle?
Studies have shown that every minute of sedentary life increases about 7 to 8 seconds of hyperglycemia time, which, on accumulation, may manifest as type 2 diabetes.
2.
A Sedentary Lifestyle Gives Rise to Which Two Types of Diseases?
A sedentary lifestyle gives rise to diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. It also increases the risk for obesity, colon cancer, hypertension, osteoporosis, lipid disorders, and mental health conditions.
3.
Is Lifestyle an Essential Criterion for Diabetes?
Although type 2 diabetes is not always associated with overweight individuals, obesity and sedentary lifestyles are the most common etiologies of type 2 diabetes.
4.
Who Is Susceptible to Type 2 Diabetes?
Individuals above 45, African American, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, or Pacific Islander populations, and people with familial history, obesity, and sedentary lifestyles are more susceptible to type 2 diabetes.
5.
What Does It Take for a Sedentary Lifestyle to Manifest Into a Disease?
A sedentary lifestyle increases all causes of mortality and the risk of cardiovascular, hypertension, diabetes, and certain cancers. In addition, various unhealthy lifestyle choices can ultimately coalesce into a systemic illness.
6.
Differentiate Between Diabetes and Diabetes Mellitus?
Diabetes and diabetes mellitus are the same. Diabetes mellitus has been called diabetes, in short, in multiple instances. Whereas diabetes insipidus and juvenile diabetes are entirely different entities.
7.
Is It Possible for a Lack of Exercise to Lead to Diabetes?
Lack of exercise can lead to the muscle cells losing insulin sensitivity which controls the sugar levels in the blood, which may manifest into diabetes.
8.
Is It Possible for Type 2 Diabetes to Become Insulin Dependent?
Diabetes is a progressive disorder; the body might require insulin shots to compensate for insulin deficiency. In addition, people may depend solely on intramuscular insulin shots for their sugar homeostasis with declining pancreas function.
9.
Is It Possible to Manage Type 2 Diabetes Without Medication?
In the initial stages of the disease, the condition can be managed without medications, preferably reversed. The steps are:
- Daily exercise.
- Carb management.
- Fibrous diet.
- Optimal hydration.
- Portion control.
- Food with a low glycemic index.
- Stress level management.
- Regular glucose monitoring.
- Sufficient sleep.
- Chromium and magnesium-rich food.
- Apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, berberine, and fenugreek seeds.
- Weight management.
- Probiotic foods.
10.
What Is the Primary Risk Factor for Developing Type 2 Diabetes?
The primary risk of developing diabetes is for people who are overweight or obese and with sedentary lifestyles.
11.
How to Manage Hunger as a Diabetic Patient?
Diabetic hunger, also known as diabetic hyperphagia, can be managed by certain adjustments, such as:
- Eat a high-fiber diet.
- Drink plenty of water.
- High protein breakfast.
- Eat without distractions.
- Food with various tastes, herbs, and spices.
- Distract from hunger with activities.
- Allow small amounts of the most-craved food.
- Keep healthy snacks handy.
12.
Is It Possible for a Type 2 Diabetes to Be Hungry?
Polyphagia is an early warning sign of diabetes as the cells are starved of fuel, although swimming in glucose. The failure of the insulin intake mechanism makes the cells hungry for food.
13.
When to Eat the Last Meal at Night as a Diabetic Patient?
The best advice is to fast at night by capping the final meal time between 8:30 PM and 10:30 PM.
14.
What Is the Reason for Not Feeling Satisfied After Eating?
People with diabetes experience polyphagia, which makes them feel hungry even after feeding. This is due to the failure of the glucose intake mechanism in the cells, due to which the cells do not receive fuel even if they are swimming in glucose.
Last reviewed at:
11 Oct 2022 - 3 min read
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