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This is the first clinical study to show that benefits remain even ifpatients regain their weight. The study followed more than 2,500 adults withtype 2 diabetes for four years. Those who lost weight within an average of 18months after diagnosis were up to twice as likely to achieve their bloodpressure and blood sugar targets as those who didn't lose weight. Thosebenefits can prevent diabetes-related heart disease, blindness, nerve andkidney damage, and death.
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"Our study shows that early weight loss can reduce the risk factors thatso often lead to diabetes complications and death," says Dr. AdrianneFeldstein, MD, MS, the study's lead author, a practicing physician and aninvestigator at Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research in Portland,Ore. "We've known for a long time that weight loss is an important componentin diabetes treatment and prevention. Now it appears there may be a criticalwindow of opportunity following diagnosis in which some lasting gains can beachieved if people are willing to take immediate steps toward lifestylechanges."
More than 20 million Americans have type 2 diabetes and most of them areoverweight or obese.
Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the four-year study conductedby Kaiser Permanente in Oregon and Washington followed 2,574 patients withtype 2 diabetes between 1997 and 2002. Scientists followed the weight gainand loss patterns of these patients for three years, and then in the fourthyear compared glucose control tests and blood pressure readings.
Most patients remained at about the same weight during the first threeyears of the study, but a small group of 314 patients lost an average of 23pounds. This group was more likely to meet blood pressure and glucose targetsduring the fourth year even though, by that time, most of them had regainedtheir weight.
"We don't know if the initial weight loss increased the body's sensitivityto insulin, or if the sustained lifestyle changes were the reason for thelong-term health benefits," said Gregory A. Nichols, Ph.D., a study co-authorat Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research. "But we do know thatlosing weight reduces the risk factors that often lead to heart disease,blindness, nerve and kidney damage, amputations, and death in type 2 diabetespatients."
Although the study didn't examine specific methods for weight loss, priorstudies conducted at Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research havedemonstrated effective weight loss strategies. One recent study reported thatdiabetic patients who had nutritional counseling were about twice as likely tolose weight. Another study found that people who keep food diaries lose twiceas much weight as those who don't, and that people who attend support groupsalso lose more weight.
This study -- The Weight Change in Diabetes and Glycemic and BloodPressure Control study -- was supported by a grant from National Institute ofDiabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes ofHealth. Study authors include: Adrianne C. Feldstein, MD, MS; Gregory A.Nichols, Ph.D.; David H. Smith, RPh, MHA, Ph.D.; Victor J. Stevens, Ph.D.; A.Gabriela Rosales, M.S. and Nancy Perrin, Ph.D. of the Kaiser Permanente Centerfor Health Research, and Keith Bachman, MD, of the Northwest PermanenteMedical Group.
About the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research(http://www.kpchr.org)
Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research, founded in 1964, is anonprofit research institution dedicated to advancing knowledge to impr
