It has long been understood that obesity can play a role in how a person with type 1 diabetes can control their blood sugar levels. But no research looked at the connection between obesity and diabetic kidney disease.
Therefore, de Boer and colleagues looked at data on almost 1,300 patients with type 1 diabetes from the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT). Over the course of six years, 8.4 percent of patients developed an early sign of diabetic kidney disease, small amounts of a particular protein in the urine.
It was determined that the larger the patient’s waist—a typical measure of obesity—the higher the risk for developing this early sign of kidney failure: for every four inch increase in waist circumference, the risk of having this condition increased by 34 percent. However, the rate of kidney failure could not be linked to obesity.
“Our results suggests that weight control is important in type 1 diabetes and that overweight patients with type 1 diabetes may need further evaluation and treatment,” said de Boer.
Experts recommend that patients with diabetes be extra vigilant about eating well and exercising to maintain a healthy weight. “For these patients, lifestyle interventions such as exercise and diet may be useful in preventing kidney and heart disease,” said de Boer.
