Sumo wrestlers kind of fascinate me in this regard. It's very rare to find a professional who is diabetic, even though they eat one big carb-heavy meal a day and are morbidly obese. IIRC, this is explained by their low visceral fat levels, which are driven by high adiponectin levels that are themselves driven by their intense workouts and consistent sleep habits. Their high subcutaneous fat proportion is actually thought to be protective. T2D catches up to them after they retire and stop exercising and sleeping well.

Their experience touches on 3 factors:

>Exercise volume (which, according to newer research, should be spread out over the course of the day)

>Diet (which should be focused not just on maintaining steady, low blood sugar levels, but on dietary factors that encourage subcutaneous rather than visceral fat deposition)

>Sleep quality

The last, I think, is extremely undervalued. My father developed T2 in his 30s, and it progressed consistently until he was diagnosed with sleep apnea and received treatment. Around the same time, his work schedule finally became more reasonable after a career of early mornings and late nights. This is someone who had to pass annual physical fitness exams for his job, cooked and ate relatively healthily, etc. I'm convinced it was the years of poor sleep that set him up for insulin resistance.