Losing Weight Helps Control Type 2 Diabetes Better: Study

Immediate weight loss, especially by those newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetesdefine, can help in better disease management by offering better control over blood pressure and blood sugar levels.

Moreover, the benefits of weight loss extend even beyond the point where the patients regain all the lost weight, a new study finds.

Gregory A. Nichols, an investigator for Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore, and a co-author of the study along with his team monitored over 2,500 adults aged 21 through 75 recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetesdefine between the years 1997 and 2002.

Their electronic medical data was then evaluated to track their weight, blood sugar and blood pressure measures. Weight recordings were checked every three years, while blood sugar and blood pressure measures were taken every fourth year, the team highlighted.

While most participants, nearly 76 percent, had maintained their weight throughout the study, some 314 people, or 12 percent, managed to lose on average 23 pounds in the months after diagnosis. However, by the 36th month, they had regained nearly all they had lost.

Four years later, members of the ‘loss and regain group’ had significantly better disease management. They were most likely to meet their goals for blood sugar levels and blood pressure, even though their weight loss was short-lived, the researchers marked.

For blood sugar control, a 7 percent or higher on a blood test called HbA1c was termed as significant, while, in blood pressure management, 130/80 mmHg was deemed normal.

"If you lose weight after diagnosis, you can achieve some long-term benefits in terms of blood pressure and glycemic control that extend even beyond the point at which you regain weight," Nichols reports his findings in the August 12 issue of the journal Diabetes Care.

Type 2 Diabetes, a metabolic disorder that is primarily characterized by insulindefine resistance usually affects adults over 40. An estimated 20 million Americans suffer from type 2 diabetes, and the majority is either overweight or obese.

For diabetes, "losing weight is a good idea, even if you regain it," Nichols concludes.