Type 2 Diabetes - Does Having Psoriasis Increase The Risk of Being Obese and Developing Diabetes?

By Beverleigh H Piepers

Psoriasis, a non-contagious genetically acquired skin disease, has been linked with obesity and Type 2 diabetes. In July of 2016 the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dermatology, reported on a genetic study of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and psoriasis.
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen and several other institutions in Denmark compared 33,588 Danish twins between 20 and 71 years of age. It was found...

• the participants with psoriasis were 53 percent more likely to have Type 2 diabetes than those with healthy skin.
• the same psoriasis participants were also 81 percent more likely to have obesity.

Among identical twins with psoriasis, those who had psoriasis were more than twice as likely to have obesity than their twin without the skin condition.
Non-identical twins having psoriasis were only 43 percent more likely to be obese than their twins with clear skin.
Identical twins have all the same genes, while non-identical twins are as closely related genetically as any two children with the same parents. Genetic factors accounted for...

• 68 percent of the difference in susceptibility to psoriasis,
• 73 percent of the variation in susceptibility to Type 2 diabetes, and
• 74 percent of the differences in the body mass index (BMI).

The scientists concluded psoriasis, Type 2 diabetes, and obesity could have a common cause.
According to the World Psoriasis Day consortium, about 2 percent of the population has psoriasis. That means about 7.5 million people in the United States and about 125 million worldwide. It is more common in adults than in children, and more common in older than in younger children.
According to the World Health Organisation, the number of cases of Type 2 diabetes in adults worldwide, has gone from 4.7 percent in 1980 to 8.5 percent in 2014. That is 108 million Type 2 diabetics in 1980, going up to 422 million in 2014. The increase has been attributed to the worldwide epidemic of obesity.
By 2014 the number of obese patients worldwide doubled. In 2014...

• 41 percent of children under 5 were overweight or obese.
• among adults over 18 years of age and older, 1.9 billion were overweight or obese.

That is 13 percent of the world's adult population according to the World Health Organisation.
Eating a healthful diet containing plenty of fruit and vegetables, keeping your weight normal, and getting enough exercise is good for preventing all three conditions. Although the diseases are transmitted genetically, environment and how you treat your body are important too.
Although managing your disease can be very challenging, Type 2 diabetes is not a condition you must just live with. You can make simple changes to your daily routine and lower both your weight and your blood sugar levels. Hang in there, the longer you do it, the easier it gets.
For nearly 25 years, Beverleigh Piepers has searched for and found a number of secrets to help you build a healthy body. Go to http://DrugFreeType2Diabetes.com to learn about some of those secrets.
The answer isn't in the endless volumes of available information but in yourself.
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