Many Type 2 Diabetes Patients Morbidly Obese: U.S. Study

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Twenty percent of Americans with type 2 diabetes are more than 100 pounds overweight (morbidly obese), according to a Loyola University Health System study.

"The rate of morbid obesity among people with diabetes is increasing at a very alarming rate, and this has substantial public health implications," lead author Dr. Holly Kramer said in a news release, United Press International reported.

An analysis of national data showed that 62.4 percent of U.S. adults with type 2 diabetes are obese and 20.7 are morbidly obese, or have a body mass index of more than 40.

Kramer and colleagues also found that morbid obesity among type 2 diabetes patients increased 141 percent from 1976 to 1980 and 2005 to 2006, UPI reported.

The study appears online in the Journal of Diabetes and its Complications.