Weight loss support beats diabetes

Wednesday December 6th, 2017

An intensive weight management programme can lead to remission of type 2 diabetes in up to half of patients, researchers report today.

At present, the guidelines for type 2 diabetes management focus mainly on drug treatments to lower blood glucose and the raised risk of cardiovascular disease that diabetes brings.

Professor Michael Lean, from Glasgow University, UK, and colleagues examined whether intensive weight management, delivered in primary care, could achieve remission of type 2 diabetes. Their study involved 306 overweight men and women with diabetes at 49 primary care practices in Scotland and Tyneside.

Half were given care according to normal guidelines, and half were given an intensive weight management programme - withdrawal of antidiabetic and antihypertensive drugs, total diet replacement for three to five months, gradual reintroduction of food, and support for long-term weight loss maintenance.

Nearly a quarter (24%) of those in the intervention group had lost 15kg or more when measured after a year. Nearly half (46%) achieved diabetes remission, compared with 4% in the normal care group. Among those who lost 15kg or more, 86% experienced remission of their diabetes.

In The Lancet yesterday (5 December), the authors report that quality of life improved in the intervention group, and fell in the control group.

Professor Lean says: "Our findings suggest that even if you have had type 2 diabetes for six years, putting the disease into remission is feasible.

“In contrast to other approaches, we focus on the need for long-term maintenance of weight loss through diet and exercise and encourage flexibility to optimise individual results."

Lean, M. E. J. et al. Primary care-led weight management for remission of type 2 diabetes (DiRECT): an open-label, cluster-randomised trial. The Lancet 5 December 2017; doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)33102-1 [abstract]

Tags: Diabetes | Diet & Food | UK News

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