A friend of ours who really loved eating a lot and is in the mid-50s was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. He lost like 50 lb- and was ok. I hear however that it is not only weight but also exercise. So it seems as if type 2 can in many cases be avoided. My granny and my dad had it. While my dad was never really really overweight (weighing in at 170 lb with 5ft 5) he stopped moving very much when he became 80+ (sitting in front of the TV watching soccer and tennis) - and there it was.