Predicting Type 2 Diabetes Through Buttock Muscle Shape
A new study has found that the shape of the buttocks can be used to predict the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Recently, international media outlets including the UK’s Daily Mail reported on research presented by a team from the University of Westminster at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago.
According to the study, there were significant differences in buttock shape among diabetes patients depending on gender. The researchers explained that the shape of the gluteus maximus (buttock muscle) was more closely related to diabetes than its size, and that the muscle’s form varied distinctly according to gender and the presence of disease.
In male diabetes patients, the buttock muscles were smaller and flatter compared to healthy males, a phenomenon attributed to muscle atrophy, which is the reduction of muscle mass. In female diabetes patients, fat infiltrated and accumulated within the muscle, resulting in a larger and more protruding shape than in healthy females.
Additionally, analysis of factors such as body measurements, medical history, lifestyle habits, and disease-related test results revealed that better physical fitness was associated with healthier buttock muscle shapes. Aging and prolonged sedentary behavior, on the other hand, caused the muscles to become thinner.
The research team analyzed more than 61,300 MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan data registered in the UK Biobank to reach these findings. The researchers stated, "Changes in the shape of buttock muscles can serve as an early warning sign of type 2 diabetes," and added, "Observing changes in buttock muscle shape, along with changes in waist circumference, may be an indicator of worsening metabolic health." They further noted, "In the future, the structural shape of muscles may help not only with early diagnosis but also with personalized treatment."
Meanwhile, the buttock muscles are among the largest muscles in the human body and play a crucial role in metabolic health, including processing fat and sugar and responding to insulin.
Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which blood sugar levels rise due to insufficient insulin secretion or insulin resistance. In the case of type 2 diabetes, environmental factors such as the westernization of diet, lack of exercise, and stress play a significant role, and it can also be caused by defects in certain genes. According to various studies, diabetes is known to at least double the risk of death.
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