Type 2 diabetes is a huge problem in the US. Studies have long suggested that losing weight can help a person reduce or even stop having to use diabetes medication, and even reverse the diabetes. A recent study also found that type 2 diabetes in overweight individuals can be reversed by losing weight.
The good news is that the weight loss doesn't have to be huge - it can be as little as 8% of body weight (e.g., 16 lbs in a 200 pound person). Losing 8% of their body weight improved glycemic control because there was an improvement in their insulin responsiveness. By the way, all the participants in the study had a "sedentary lifestyle" and none exercised.
From Medical Xpress: Can type 2 diabetes be reversed? Experts say 'yes'
More than 36 million Americans have type 2 diabetes, a condition primarily attributed to the body's cells not responding to insulin properly, leading to high blood sugar levels. Due to the concomitant increase in the prevalence of obesity, type 2 diabetes is rising across the U.S. and around the world.
Insulin resistance drives type 2 diabetes, Shulman explains. "If you reverse insulin resistance, you reverse type 2 diabetes," he said. In a landmark study, Shulman and Kitt Petersen, MD, professor of medicine (endocrinology), showed that modest weight reduction—even as little as 10%—does just that. The study is published in the journal Diabetes. ...continue reading "Study Found Losing Weight Reversed Type 2 Diabetes"