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Type II diabetes is known to be triggered by being overwieght. However, what if you are overwieght just from muscle? Can this cause Type II diabetes as well?

Well my 83 year old mom just got diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. She is not that overweight now, but she had waged her own "battle of the bulge" as long as I could remember until she had open heart surgery in 2001.

I believe the risk factor is fat not muscle mass. So if you are 200 lbs. but all muscle it is not the same risk as 200 lbs. and most of it is around your stomach and on you backside and hips.

JBE60 saidWell my 83 year old mom just got diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. She is not that overweight now, but she had waged her own "battle of the bulge" as long as I could remember until she had open heart surgery in 2001.

I believe the risk factor is fat not muscle mass. So if you are 200 lbs. but all muscle it is not the same risk as 200 lbs. and most of it is around your stomach and on you backside and hips.

so why am I having issues with my blood sugar???

Don't know why, but remember not all Type 2 diabetics have weight issues, obesity greatly increases your risk, but there could be other factors.

Hopefully your doctor will come up with some ideas that will help control it. Supposedly modifying your diet can be a big help.

Type II diabetes is usually caused by insulin resistance of the body's cells.

As little as half a teaspoon of cinnamon in your diet per day (put it on toast or in your coffee) can increase insulin receptivity by 50%.

Coffee without sugar is good, too.

While the ammount of body fat has a small role it's not the main issue...

Fat cells and muscle cells both bind insulin increasing the requirement for the pancreas to secrete it. So yes muscle weight has an effect but not nearly as much as fat weight.


Fat people tend to have a poor diet with irregular consumption of large amounts of refined sugar. The more refined the sugar source the faster it hits the blood stream which puts pressure on Pancreatic B cells

Fat people tend to exercise infrequently and lead a sedentary lifestyle, physical exercise increases metabolism & insulin effectiveness.


What kind of problems are you having with your blood sugar, persistent hypergylycemia?

AMT87 saidWhile the ammount of body fat has a small role it's not the main issue...

Fat cells and muscle cells both bind insulin increasing the requirement for the pancreas to secrete it. So yes muscle weight has an effect but not nearly as much as fat weight.


Fat people tend to have a poor diet with irregular consumption of large amounts of refined sugar. The more refined the sugar source the faster it hits the blood stream which puts pressure on Pancreatic B cells

Fat people tend to exercise infrequently and lead a sedentary lifestyle, physical exercise increases metabolism & insulin effectiveness.


What kind of problems are you having with your blood sugar, persistent hypergylycemia?

yeah it is staying b/w 140-145 regular...recently got it as low as 120...

Your going to have to translate those I use mMol to measure blood glucose

Yeah, 140-145 is quite high (the normal is between 70-110)

Here's some info you can look up
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/type-2-
diabetes/DS00585

Overweight is just one of the risk factors/triggers, but like JBE said, it's more fat-related, not muscle mass.

Do you drink a lot of alcohol? Excessive consumption of sugars, such as alcohol can be a definite trigger. One of my friends used to drink heavily since he was 18, it finally caught up with him at 44 y/o and he was diagnosed with Type II in 2005.

And definitely see your doctor if you haven't already.

could be any number of reasons and your doctor should have gone over it in detail with you. Diabetes runs in my family, while obesity does not.

Most often its due to improper diets but there are times in which the pancreas just doesnt produce enough insulin. The later is a cause of type 2 in my family. Either I wasnt born with the genetic defect or its because I have always watched what I ate that i havent come down with diabetes. When I say it runs in my family I mean everyone but myself has type 2 diabetes and Im the heaviest out of them all.