Weight loss of 20-30% can partially or completely reverse type 2 diabetes

The more weight people with type 2 diabetes lose, the greater the odds that the disease will go partially or even completely into remission, according to an analysis published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.

Reviewing 22 earlier randomised trials testing weight loss interventions in overweight or obese patients with type 2 diabetes, researchers found complete remission of the disease in half of those who lost 20% to 29% of their body weight. Nearly 80% of patients who lost 30% of body weight no longer appeared to have diabetes.

That means their haemoglobin A1c levels — a standard measure reflecting average blood sugar levels over the past few months — or their fasting blood sugar levels had returned to normal without use of any diabetes medications.

No-one who lost less than 20% of their body weight achieved a complete remission, but some were in partial remission, with haemoglobin A1c and fasting glucose levels returning almost to normal.

Partial remission was seen in roughly 5% of those who lost less than 10% of their body weight, and that percentage rose steadily with greater weight loss, reaching nearly 90% among those who lost at least 30%.

Overall, for every percentage point decrease in body weight, the probability of reaching complete remission increased by roughly two percentage points and the probability of reaching partial remission increased by roughly three percentage points, regardless of age, sex, race, diabetes duration, blood sugar control or type of weight loss intervention.

Type 2 diabetes accounts for 96% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes, and more than 85% of adults with the disease are overweight or obese, the researchers noted.

“The recent development of effective weight loss medications, if made accessible to all who could benefit, could play a pivotal role” in reducing the prevalence of diabetes and its complications, the researchers said.

Reuters