Losing Weight is The Best Way to Combat Type 2 Diabetes After Diagnosis

Losing weight is the best way to combat type 2 diabetes after diagnosis, says study

A new research now finds that people who lose weight in the first five years of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are more likely to be on the road to recovery.

According to study authors, people who shed ten per cent or more of their body weight are twice as likely to go into remission, compared to those who stayed the same size.

According to study authors, a diet of just 700 calories a day, less than one cheeseburger, for eight weeks has been associated with remission in nine out of ten newly diagnosed cases.

The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Cambridge.

The study found that shifting pounds soon after receiving diagnosis was the most effective way at tackling the disease.

In the study, conducted with 867 people between the age of 40 and 69 with newly-diagnosed diabetes found that 257 were in remission at a five-year follow up.

According to researchers, obesity is the largest risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes and the disease affects around 400 million people worldwide.

While it puts sufferers at risk of heart disease, stroke, blindness and amputations, it can be managed long term through lifestyle changes and medication.

Furthermore, it is also possible for sufferers to return their blood glucose levels to normal through drastic calorie restriction and weight loss.

Speaking about the same, Dr Hajira Dambha-Miller, of Cambridge's Department of Public Health and Primary Care, said that they have known that it is possible to send diabetes into remission using fairly drastic measures such as intensive weight loss programmes and extreme calorie restriction.

Professor Simon Griffin, of the university's MRC Epidemiology Unit, added that while type 2 diabetes, can lead to significant complications, their study shows, it can be controlled and even reversed.

The research was funded by research charity Wellcome, the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research.

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