&gt;I am still on the fence about being &quot;overweight&quot; being a direct cause of diabetes and not an effect.<p>The parent did not bring causation into the discussion, you did.<p>You&#x27;re right to doubt it. Metabolic syndrome is the common theme <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nhlbi.nih.gov&#x2F;health&#x2F;health-topics&#x2F;topics&#x2F;ms" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nhlbi.nih.gov&#x2F;health&#x2F;health-topics&#x2F;topics&#x2F;ms</a> and it likely leads to both obesity and diabetes, among many other ailments.