Living with or having an overweight partner may raise your risk of diabetes if you are a heterosexual man. A study performed by a group of researchers at Emory University in Georgia, analyzed data from 7000 people. The data was collected in the year 2000. Most volunteers were aged between 59 to 60, none had diabetes, and were not overweight. In the following years, those with overweight female partners were more likely to develop diabetes. It is known that being overweight increases a person’s risk of diabetes, but this was the first evidence that demonstrated having an overweight partner can too. The study found that men were still more likely to develop diabetes if they had a partner with a high BMI (body mass index). A man whose partner has a BMI of 30 is 21 percent more likely to develop diabetes than a man whose partner has a BMI of 25. Couples will need to develop behavioral strategies to modify their lifestyle behaviors leading to diabetes.
Renzo J. Bustamante-Wendorff, B.S., M.S.
Research & Development
References: New Scientist, June 28, 2018
