We all know that maintaining a healthy weight is an essential part of living a healthy lifestyle, but it may be more important than ever according to new research.

While our genetics don’t always have to determine our fate when it comes to being overweight or even developing disease, new research is stating that a higher genetic risk of having fat around the abdominal area could ultimately cause your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes to go up.

What’s the Research Showing?

The research exploring the link between abdominal fat and Type 2 diabetes was conducted by the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. According to their study, the authors found that people who had genetic links to larger waist-to-hip circumference not only had more significant chance of developing Type 2 diabetes but coronary heart disease as well.

Getting to a Healthy Weight

So where do we go from here? With these findings, it’s important to continue with steps towards living a healthy lifestyle. If you are genetically predisposed to having abdominal fat, taking that into account is even more so important.

Here are some steps you can take to start living a healthy life and potentially reduce your risk of disease:

• Eat a well-balanced, healthy diet
• Limit carbohydrates as per your specific diabetes management plan
• Focus on complex carbohydrates vs. refined carbohydrates
• Eat fruits and vegetables with each meal
• Exercise daily
• Work on managing stress
• Try to get at least 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep per night
• Regularly visit your physician to stay on top of your health

A little prevention goes a long way, and if you can catch certain health concerns early, your health will be better off in the long run. This includes abdominal fat. This type of fat is one of the most dangerous, and this study further reiterates that point.

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Diabetes.co.uk URL Link Accessed February 16, 2017

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