Inflammation – Not Obesity – Leads to Diabetes

While the mice in the research study did develop fatty livers, they did not develop inflammation. “Their livers remained normal in terms of insulin sensitivity,” says Dr. Olefsky. This shows that insulin resistance can also be disassociated from fatty liver, he says.

“We aren’t suggesting that obesity is healthy, but indications are promising that, by blocking the macrophage pathway, scientists may find a way to prevent the type 2 diabetes now linked to obesity and fatty livers,” Dr. Olefsky says. He expects that their discovery may lead to new drugs to prevent type 2 diabetes.

I wrote here two years ago about the dangers of fatty liver, which I had at that time. I am particularly sensitive to the dangers of fatty liver, because if we don’t  control it, it can lead to liver failure. Early this year my wife, Catherine, who also had type 2 diabetes, died of liver failure.

None of this is to deny that we can control our diabetes better when we lose weight. I know from my experience of losing a lot of weight in the past two years how much better my numbers are and how much better I feel. Now, we have drugs to help people with diabetes regulate their weight. Maybe in a few years, as people appreciate that inflammation causes both obesity and diabetes and as more and more of us lose weight, people will stop blaming us for being overweight. They may even stop labeling type 2 diabetes a lifestyle disease.