Can skinny people get diabetes?

St. Joseph’s/Candler Diabetes Management education specialist answers this commonly asked question

The popular perception may be that people with diabetes are all overweight or obese, or at least were when they developed the disease. Yes, obesity is a major risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes, but that doesn’t mean average or thin people can’t also develop the condition.

“Skinny, or fit, can be a very false perception of health,” says Chloe Paddison, education specialists and certified dietitian with the St. Joseph’s/Candler Diabetes Management program. “Genetics plays a big role in terms of either your predisposition for diabetes or your predisposition for your metabolism. So, you can be a very small bodied person and still have diabetes or prediabetes.”

What is diabetes?

In general, diabetes is an endocrine disorder, which causes an inability to manage your blood sugar levels naturally.

There are two different types of diabetes – of which result from many different reasons – type 1 and type 2.

“Type 1 diabetes can happen in childhood or adulthood and is associated with an autoimmune disorder,” says Paddison. “That can happen to anyone for any reason.”

Anyone can also develop type 2 diabetes – yes, even skinny people.

One of the main causes of type 2 diabetes is obesity, but it’s a common misconception that only obese people can get diabetes. That is not the case at all. There are many other causes as well.

“Chronic stress levels can be a major risk factor. With stress comes high blood sugars as a fight or flight response in the body,” Paddison says. “Some other risk factors could be medications that are having an effect long term on people.”

Sleep is also very important, Paddison adds, “because we’re supposed to be regulating our hormones while we are sleeping and that plays a big role in the endocrine system.”

How do you know if you have diabetes?

There are symptoms of diabetes such as frequent urination, blurring vision or excessive thirst. But to truly diagnose diabetes, your healthcare provider will do blood work to learn your A1C.

The A1C value is the average blood sugar level over a three-month period, Paddison explains. An A1C level of 5.7-6.4 is considered prediabetes. An A1C of 6.5 indicates that someone has diabetes.

“A1C is not a routine lab unless it has shown up high in the past,” says Paddison. “But, I would say it’s important for people to ask to have their A1C checked.”

Related Article: Five things to know about prediabetes

How can you lower your risk for diabetes?

Paddison’s cut and dry answer: live a structured lifestyle.

“Unfortunately, when you lack structure, that means we are not providing the body with adequate balance,” Paddison says. “We’re not fueling on a regular basis. We’re not moving our bodies like we should. We’re not getting sleep like we should, and your body can only back you up for so long.”

“Ultimately, it’s stress management, movement, regular fueling and balanced fueling. It’s not food’s fault, it’s how we use food.”

About Prevent T2

At St. Joseph’s/Candler, we offer a year-long comprehensive program called Prevent T2 for people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The first six months of the program, you’ll meet with Paddison weekly to go over a lifestyle-oriented topic such as stress management, balanced meals, carb counting, etc. The next six months, you meet once a month. This is more of an accountability session.

The program is 100 percent covered for St. Joseph’s/Candler co-workers, Chatham County employees and City of Savannah employees. It’s open to anyone, however, at an out-of-pocket price.

To learn more about the program or enroll, please contact St. Joseph’s/Candler Center for Diabetes Management at 912-819-6146.