A 32-year-old teacher with what many consider a normal weight and seemingly clean and healthy eating habits was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and sadly, new research shows she is far from alone.
Even people who don’t fit the usual risk profile, including being obese or consuming sugary foods and drinks, can be diagnosed with the condition. These cases shed light on how modern diets, genetics, body fat distribution, and metabolic health all combine in ways that can surprise us.
A review published in Diabetologia shows that among people with normal or even below-normal Body Mass Index (BMI), type 2 diabetes still occurs at signifficant rates. In many Asian and African populations, between 24% to 66% of diabetes cases are in non-overweight or normal-weight individuals. While the incidence of diabetes among normal-weight adults is lower than in overweight or obese adults, it is increasing over time.
This indicates that although being overweight is a strong risk factor, it’s definitely not the only one.
Other key mechanisms and lifestyle factors can lead to diabetes even among people who look healthy.
Fat distribution, especially visceral fat– Even when BMI is “normal,” fat stored around the organs, known as visceral fat, or in and around the liver or pancreas can lead to insulin resistance or impair insulin secretion. Studies using imaging (CT scans) have found that “lean” individuals with type 2 diabetes often have abdominal fat signatures similar to those in overweight people, like increased visceral fat, altered muscle fat content, or pancreatic fat.
Metabolic dysfunction despite “normal” metrics– People with what is sometimes called the “metabolically unhealthy normal weight” (MUNW) phenotype may have normal BMI but still experience insulin resistance, elevated fasting glucose, abnormal lipid profiles, or high inflammation markers. These markers are risk factors for diabetes but often go unnoticed because the person is not overweight.
Diet quality beyond sugar– Modern diets often include ultra-processed foods that, while low in visible sugar, are filled with additives, refined carbs, and unhealthy fats that disrupt metabolic health. A recent study from The Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that greater consumption of ultra-processed foods correlates with worse blood sugar control (higher HbA1c), even for people not consuming a lot of sugary treats.
Other foods doctors recommend people cut from their diet in order to lower the risk of diabetes are white bread, pastries and pastry based foods, ready-bought meals, and takeaways, sugary drinks such as fruit juices, energy drinks, and flavored milk.
The 32-year-old teacher who appeared slim and healthy did cook her own meals but consumed plenty of pastries, unaware they were causing blood sugar spikes.
Her story is a reminder that health is about more than what you see. Remember that hidden dangers lurk in modern diets, in how our bodies store fat, in genetic heritage, and in how we respond to metabolic stress.
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Prince William & Harry’s bitter feud was ‘triggered by brutal childhood comment’, according to an insider
Late Princess Diana made her sons promise her that they would be friends forever, and truth is, the two brothers did share a close bond growing up, but during the last couple of years, that changed drastically.
Ever since Harry and Meghan stepped down from their royal duties and moved to the States, the relationship between Harry and the rest of the royals, including William, has gone downhills. It was mainly because of the interviews the Duke of Sussex gave in which he accused his family of a number of things. Their relationship became even worse when Harry published his all-tell memoir Spare.
Among the rest, Harry detailed a meeting in his book with William during which he had called his wife, Meghan, “abrasive,” “rude,” and “difficult,” something Harry referred to as to “parroting the press narrative.”
Allegedly, things escalated and Harry described how William “grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and … knocked me to the floor.”
“He set down the water, called me another name, then came at me. It all happened so fast. So very fast. He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me. I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out,” Harry wrote.
According to a friend of William, the brother’s relationship is at a such low point that William is considering excluding Harry from his coronation when he becomes king. “They are estranged, which is dreadfully sad,” the source told The Times.
However, royal expert and author Christopher Andersen told Fox he is “convinced” that the Duke will be there. “Despite all the bad blood between the brothers, I’m convinced that, when the time does come, William will not be foolish enough to exclude his only sibling, now fifth in line to the throne, from his coronation,” Andersen said.
“Things probably have never been worse between the brothers than they are now. William and Charles have pretty much made the joint decision to effectively cut Harry out of their lives, at least for the time being. There is no sign of a reconciliation on the horizon, and everyone involved seems to have pretty much come to terms with that.”
While the brothers seemed to be getting along until the family feud and the Sussexes departure from the royal family, Princess Diana’s former butler, Paul Burrell, claims Harry’s feelings of being the “spare” might have been triggered all the way back when they were children.
He suggested that the cause might have been something like the nanny showing preference for William, who was — and remains — the future king.
“I heard one of the nannies say to William, ‘I’m going to give you three sausages, William. You need to grow big and strong, because you’re going to be king one day,’” Burrell said.
Burrell, who started working at Buckingham Palace when he was 18 and later became King Charles’ butler, spent a lot of time around William and Harry. He saw their rivalry start when they were kids and carry on as they grew up.
“I met both William and Harry in their early 20s, at a polo match, and chatted to them, and you could see that Harry always felt he was in second place.”
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