If you are one of the millions of people with type 2 diabetes, new research suggests that losing weight can lead to diabetes remission for up to two years.
Here’s the proof: 70% of people with type 2 diabetes who were a normal weight during the study went into remission after they lost roughly 10% of their body weight.
Type 2 diabetes is the form of the disease most closely tied to obesity, yet around 15% of patients don’t have obesity or overweight, according to the American Diabetes Association journal Diabetes Care. They may, however, be pushing their personal “fat threshold.”
“Everyone has a level at which they can no longer store fat safely inside the body — that is determined by genes,” according to study author Dr. Roy Taylor, a professor of medicine and metabolism at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom.
“If you can’t store more fat under your skin, the fat spills over and starts building up inside the liver,” he explains. “When this happens, too much fat goes to the rest of the body, including the pancreas. Insulin-producing cells in the pancreas then don’t work as properly as before, which can lead to type 2.”
“Type 2 diabetes happens to those who are susceptible, but only when they have become too heavy for their own body,” Taylor notes.
“No test can say “you have exceeded your personal fat threshold” yet, but some blood markers of stress in fat may one day prove to be a reliable way to measure that threshold”, he adds.
For the study, 20 people with diabetes who didn’t have obesity or overweight ate 800 calories a day (from low-calorie soups and shakes and non-starchy vegetables) for two to four weeks. They did this three times, with each cycle followed by four to six weeks of weight maintenance. They lost about 10.7% of their weight overall and kept it off for six months to a year.
Fourteen people achieved diabetes remission, based on their HbA1c levels. This provides a snapshot of average blood glucose levels over several weeks. Folks in remission no longer needed to take diabetes medication.
“This mirrors what is seen among people with type 2 diabetes who are overweight or obese and lose weight”, according to Taylor.
MRI scans showed declines of fat inside the liver and pancreas that were in line with what is seen in people without diabetes. Specifically, fat in the pancreas fell from an average of 5.8% to 4.3% among people with diabetes, and the activity of the insulin-producing cells returned to normal.
It doesn’t take much extra fat to thwart the activity of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. “You only need an extra half gram of fat in the pancreas to prevent normal insulin production,” Taylor says.
“Regardless of body mass index [BMI], people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes have more fat inside the body than they can cope with,” he notes. “There is a good chance of remission if they can lose around 10% of their starting weight.”
“The relationship between obesity and diabetes is consistent and strong”, says Dr. Scott Kahan, director of the National Center for Weight and Wellness, in Washington, D.C.
“Even exceedingly small amounts of weight gain or excess weight can increase the risk for type 2 diabetes significantly — even in people who are relatively thin,” Kahan notes.
The Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) study, a long-term research project investigating the impact of intensive lifestyle interventions on weight loss and cardiovascular health in people with type 2 diabetes, found that losing at least 5% of body weight can significantly improve blood sugar control and lower the risk of type 2 diabetes (Look AHEAD Research Group, 2010)¹.
“This study further supports the importance of weight management for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes, and strongly suggests that weight management guidance, support and intervention will likely be valuable even in persons with only small amounts of excess weight,” according to Kahan.
Although losing weight is a clear way to prevent and manage diabetes, actually shedding the pounds isn’t always easy. If you are struggling to lose weight, the American Diabetes Association suggests starting with the following:
Emotions can influence what, when, and how much we eat. When you eat based on your emotions, it can hinder your weight loss efforts. Learn about the emotions that may trigger your desire for food.
The right combination of exercise, healthy foods and portion control is the key to weight loss for many people. Learn how to set realistic goals for yourself.
Factors in the environment trigger our senses and other mental processes that make us think we are hungry even when we’re not. Learn how to get in touch with your appetite today.
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