Obesity aggravates risks of 'Double Diabetes'

He warned that obesity accelerates insulin resistance and reduced insulin sensitivity, a factor that is demonstrated to drive the immune process typical in type 1 diabetes.

"Obesity accelerates the process known as beta cell reduction, and is a serious hazard for type 1 diabetes leading to a new observable trait or clinical entity - the presence of type 1 and type 2 in the same individual," said Professor Paolo Pozzilli.

Professor Pozzilli aired his concerns as he addressed medical experts at Imperial College London Diabetes Centre (ICLDC) Abu Dhabi recently. Professor Pozzilli was in the capital to share his insights on recent developments in the treatment of diabetes.

"In the region, obesity is believed to have a major impact on the general population and in particular the young population. Indeed, some statistics suggest that 35% of school children in the UAE are overweight or obese," he added.

Pozzilli is Professor of Diabetes and Clinical Research at the Centre for Diabetes at Barts and The London School of Medicine & Dentistry, London, as well as Professor of Endocrinology & Metabolic Diseases at the University Campus Bio-Medico in Rome, Italy.

He explained how the distinction between types of diabetes is blurring as more and more factors come to play and urged specialists to dig deep for diabetes treatment options.

"Type 1 diabetes should be regarded as a very non-uniform disease. Until a few a years ago you had the classification of type 1 and type 2, however now age is a factor which needs serious consideration. I think broadly there are three ages where we have to consider how the disease process is taking place: before puberty, during puberty and after puberty. And the presence of insulin resistance and other associated factors-both genetic and immunological are relevant considerations for specialists," he added.

He said, "Early diagnosis is crucial for managing diabetes of all types." "The earlier a patient is diagnosed, the as less they tend to develop long term complications associated with type 1 diabetes. Of course education is so crucial and so is compliance to therapy," he concluded.