Is it safe to say that obesity is a risk factor for diabetes but not a cause?
In: Other
The word causation suggests a mechanistic link between an event and an outcome.
A risk factor increases the likelihood of an outcome.
In regards to obesity and diabetes, the picture becomes somewhat confusing as the mechanism is driven by multiple causes. Adiposity is a risk factor (increases your chances) and mechanistically drives disease (via hormonal changes).
Adiposity is also an indicator of other underlying causes/risk factors which are linked to diabetes e.g. obese people are more likely to consume a diet high in sugars and simple carbohydrates, exercise less etc. These behaviours are themselves independent risk factors for both diabetes and obesity.
In other words it’s complex and RFs and causal mechanisms interact with each other.
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