Type 1 diabetes and body fat

According to recent reports, gaining body fat could be a good thing for some people with type 1 diabetes . A research team at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health found that weight gain could be protective over a long period of time.
The study, which was presented in the American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions in San Francisco, investigated 655 patients with type 1 diabetes over a 20 year period.
The study, called the Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications Study began in 1986. The team found that those whose BMI increased during the study were one-third less likely to die.
A professor at the university, Trevor Orchard, reportedly commented: “Although weight gain in adulthood is typically associated with increased mortality, this may not be the case for those with type 1 diabetes. Gaining a reasonable amount of weight may be a sign patients are getting enough insulin and appropriately controlling their disease, which may partly explain why those who gained weight over time had lower mortality rates .”