Low calorie diets may help reverse type 2 diabetes

Credit: Bogdan Krupin / Unsplash

Globally, type 2 diabetes affects over 400 million people, and almost 4 million, or one in ten adults in the UK.

Around one in four people worldwide are of South Asian origin, with a considerably higher risk of type 2 diabetes than the general UK/European white population, developing the condition at a lower body mass index and at younger ages.

In a study from the University of Glasgow, scientists found people of South Asian ethnicity may be able to achieve type 2 diabetes remission by following a structured weight management program.

They found one-third of participants lose more than 10% of their body weight.

In the study, the team used a formula diet as a “total diet replacement” for up to 12 weeks in people of South Asian ethnicity.

They found sufficient weight loss was achieved by around 40% of all participants to allow for the remission of their type 2 diabetes.

The team previously showed how weight loss of 10 kg or more resulted in remission of diabetes after one year, in 70% of people with diagnosed type 2 diabetes of fewer than six years’ duration.

The team in this study showed similar T2D remission rates in those of South Asian ethnicity as those previously seen in white cohorts with the same weight management program.

Without diet treatment none of 12 participants in the control group had remission, but after they had also received the diet program, 10 out of a total of 23 participants (43%) were free from diabetes, without the need for medication.

The key to success was weight loss, which reduces the damaging fat accumulation in the liver of people with type 2 diabetes.

Overall, 35% of participants lost over 10% body weight, and liver fat content nearly halved, from a very high 15.3% at the start of total diet replacement to 8.6%.

The team says while this study is based on a small cohort of participants, the findings should have far-reaching consequences for a large proportion of the world’s diabetes population, to contribute to the development of culturally-optimal practical approaches for type 2 diabetes remission.

New studies should also aim to find new ways to maximize the sustainability of weight loss over a longer period.

If you care about diabetes, please read studies about high vitamin D level linked to lower dementia risk in diabetes, and green tea and coffee could help reduce death risk in diabetes.

For more information about nutrition, please see recent studies that blueberries strongly benefit people with metabolic syndrome, and results showing vitamin D could improve blood pressure in people with diabetes.

The study was conducted by Prof Naveed Sattar et al and published in The Lancet Regional Health—Southeast Asia.

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