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Losing weight can reverse type-2 diabetes, study suggests

07/03/2019

Losing weight can reverse type-2 diabetes, study suggests

Following a low-calorie diet – even for just a few months – can arrest type-2 diabetes for at least two years, new research suggests.


The findings of the study highlight that type-2 diabetes might not necessarily be the life sentence we previously thought.


Nearly 300 people with type-2 diabetes in Scotland and Tyneside (in the UK) participated in the study. Half were given standard diabetes care, while the other half were put on a structured weight management programme.


After 12 months, 46% of those on the low-calorie programme had successfully reversed their type-2 diabetes. In comparison, just 4% of the study participants given the standard treatment had gone into remission.


Two years later, 36% of the study participants on the structured weight management programme were still in remission.


“People with type 2 diabetes and healthcare professionals have told us their top research priority is: ‘Can the condition be reversed or cured?’ We can now say, with respect to reversal, that yes it can. Now we must focus on helping people maintain their weight loss and stay in remission for life,” said Prof Mike Lean from Glasgow University, who led the study with Taylor.


Type-2 diabetes causes blood sugar levels to rise and can lead to serious complications such as amputations, visual problems and heart disease. It is thought that one in 16 adults in the UK is currently living with type-2 diabetes, a condition that is fuelled by obesity.


[Related reading: Why being overweight increases your risk of cancer]


 

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