In the real world, losing weight is not enough to control type 2 diabetes

Clinical trials suggest that people with type 2 diabetes can control their blood glucose levels without medication if they lose weight and maintain it long-term. Weight control at the beginning of type 2 diabetes is key to controlling the disease. Experts know this but, now, according to a study published in ‘Plos Medicine’, while in clinical trials it is an achievable goal, achieving it in a real clinical practice environment is very complicated. According to the study, few patients will achieve normal blood glucose levels with weight control alone, especially in the long term. Researchers at the University of Hong Kong have analyzed data from more than 37,000 patients with type 2 diabetes followed for several years. Their results indicate that in the long term and “in the real world” this is only achieved in 6% of patients. Related News standard No This could be the key to reversing childhood obesity linked to a sedentary lifestyle ABC The study included 6,059 children (53% women) aged 11 years who were followed up until they were 24 years old. At the beginning of type two diabetes it is essential to mark the prognosis of the disease, says Cristóbal Morales, member of SEEDO and endocrinologist at Vithas Sevilla. «This study demonstrates the importance of an approach focused on weight loss in people with type 2 diabetes. It shows that if we manage to increase weight loss by more than 5 or 10% at the onset of the disease, we can not only achieve remission of diabetes, but also reduce cardiovascular mortality by up to 30%. According to the author of the research, Andrea Luk, “greater weight loss during the first year after diabetes diagnosis was interacted with a greater likelihood of achieving diabetes remission.” Only 6% of people achieved diabetes remission with weight loss 8 years after diagnosis According to the study results, only 6% of people achieved diabetes remission through weight loss alone approximately eight years after diagnosis. In those people who initially achieved remission, two-thirds had elevated blood glucose levels three years after diagnosis. These rates are significantly lower than in clinical trials, where remission occurred in up to 73% of patients one year after diagnosis. The study highlights that those with greater weight loss during the first year were more likely to have maintained a sustained remission. Diabetic education However, for Morales that should not be an obstacle to not having it as an objective. Therefore, “a key moment in type two diabetes is the onset. “Weight-focused diabetes education can reverse the disease and its complications.” This expert adds that right at the beginning, when this disease is detected, even in prediabetes, “every effort to educate healthy lifestyle habits is a great health challenge because it has been shown to prevent the complications of diabetes and increase the quality of life. And this is especially important the younger the patient is, something that has been happening in recent years. In his opinion, bariatric surgery, although it is a solution for patients with excess fat and complications, is a “late failure of medicine.” We have the obligation to move towards preventive medicine based on changes in lifestyle.