Weight loss does not appear to be enough on its own to reverse type 2 diabetes. — Filepic
Type 2 diabetes often comes hand in hand with other so-called “lifestyle diseases” such as heart conditions and obesity, and doctors have for decades been telling people with diabetes to lose weight to lessen the impact of the disease.
But losing weight is not enough, according to scientists and doctors at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, who have been studying the impact of weight loss on over 37,000 diabetes patients.
“Very few patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are able to achieve normal blood glucose levels through weight loss alone,” according to the team, whose findings were published this month (January 2024) in the medical journal PLOS Medicine.
“The incidence of diabetes remission was low with only 6% of people achieving remission over eight years, and half of those with initial remission returned to hyperglycaemia within three years, indicating poor sustainability of diabetes remission in real-world settings,” said lead researcher Dr Andrea Luk.
Clinical trials have in the past suggested weight loss can work by itself, but the real-world effects had not been tested properly, according to the Hong Kong researchers, who found weight loss to be less effective when achieved outside clinical trials.
“One reason for the discrepancy with clinical trials is that trial participants receive intensive lifestyle interventions, including holistic support for dietary changes, physical exercise and mental health,” they explained.
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An estimated 400 million people around the world suffer from diabetes, a condition that appears to have become more widespread in recent decades as people do less physical work and eat more processed foods. – dpa
