Understanding the link between obesity and diabetes
Intended for healthcare professionals
CPD    

Understanding the link between obesity and diabetes

Beverley Bostock-Cox Nurse practitioner, Mann Cottage Surgery, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, England

The incidence of type 2 diabetes is rising alongside increasing rates of obesity, in part because of people's lifestyle behaviours, such as an unhealthy diet and a lack of physical activity. The pathophysiological changes caused by central obesity can lead to metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, both of which increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Managing obesity has been identified as the optimum strategy for preventing the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular complications. This article discusses the role of healthcare professionals in educating patients and the public about the causes and effects of obesity and diabetes, and outlines the evidence-based strategies that can enable healthcare professionals to reduce patients' risk of developing these conditions. The article examines some of the strategies that healthcare professionals can implement to minimise the risk of further complications for patients who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Nursing Standard. doi: 10.7748/ns.2017.e10106

Correspondence

b.bostock@educationforhealth.org

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Received: 29 April 2015

Accepted: 15 May 2017

Published online: 24 June 2017

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