Research
Energy balance
Absolute weight gain throughout adulthood and early adult obesity (BMI at age 21) are significant independent risk factors for diabetes, with risk increasing steadily with the amount of weight gained regardless of starting BMI.
Preventing weight gain after early adulthood is crucial for diabetes prevention. Even if you are not currently obese, gaining significant weight (e.g., >11 kg or 24 lbs) since your 20s significantly increases your risk. Aim to attain a healthy weight (BMI <24) early in life and maintain it.
StrongSupportsHIGH confidence
BMI at age 21 and absolute weight gain throughout adulthood were also significant independent risk factors for diabetes... Risk increased within each tertile of weight gain as well as within each category of BMI at age 21.
Why this rating
Prospective cohort design allows for temporal assessment of weight change and incident diabetes.
Source
Obesity, Fat Distribution, and Weight Gain as Risk Factors for Clinical Diabetes in Men
June M. Chan et al. · Diabetes Care · 1994
DOI 10.2337/diacare.17.9.961
cohort · n=51529Cited 1,821×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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