The risk of adults developing Type 2 diabetes can increase as a result of exposure to certain kinds of pesticides called 'organochlorines' - which weaken the body's ability to regulate glucose!

According to the findings of a new study conducted by the researchers at the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare, people who are exposed to organochlorines are, at times, at a nearly two-fold more risk of being diagnosed with diabetes.

Stating that organochlorines - which are considered persistent organic pollutants (POPs) - were banned in the US during the 1970s, but are still being used in some other countries, the researchers said that the consumption of dairy products and oily fish generally increase a person's risk of exposure to the chemicals. 

Underscoring the findings of the study, published earlier this month in the medical journal Diabetes Care, lead researcher Riikka Airaksinen said that the impact of the pollutants accruing in people's body fat apparently has a synergistic effect in triggering Type 2 diabetes.

The researchers - who measured the blood levels of the pollutants in nearly 2,000 older adults - chiefly found that the chances of a person developing diabetes increased with an increase in the exposure to pesticides.

In addition, it was also noticed that people in the top tenth percentile of exposure to pesticides were two times as likely to have diabetes as people in the bottom tenth percentile, if they were also overweight or obese!