written by Michael O’Leary
People with type 2 diabetes who maintained a weight-loss of 5 percent of their starting weight over four years saw improvements in blood sugar control, sleep apnea, mobility and HDL cholesterol.
Despite those benefits, however, researchers were surprised to find no difference in the rates of heart attacks, chest pain and death from cardiovascular causes between the exercise group and the comparison group of type 2 diabetes patients who did not lose weight.
(published site)
As reported by the MedPage Today, the large federal study named Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) was stopped two years early because the intensive program of weight-loss did not help with its main objective of reducing cardiovascular events.
But before you conclude there is no point in losing weight, the researchers caution that the reasons there was no difference between the two groups are unclear. Dr. Mary Evans, director of special projects at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases suggested that it may be that people who volunteer for such a study, may be healthier to begin with than the general population with type 2 diabetes.
Dr. John Buse, director of the University of North Carolina’s diabetes center and former president of the American Diabetes Association, told the New York Times, that when they complete the analysis, it may be that the regular medications that both groups were taking before and during the study to reduce cholesterol and blood pressure may be so powerful as to overshadow the positive effects of weight loss and exercise on cardiovascular risk.
In the study, 5,145 overweight or obese people with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to either a strict diet and exercise program or to a comparison group that only received general health information in addition to usual care.
Patients had to have their blood pressure under at least moderate control (160/100 mmHg), HbA1c levels less than or equal to 11 percent, and fasting triglycerides concentration less than 600 mg/dL. The trial included those with and without a history of cardiovascular disease. Ages ranged from 45 to 76, and 60 percent were women.
The diet group was restricted to1,200 to 1,800 calories per day depending on their starting weight. In addition they participated in 175 minutes of moderate exercise per week.
After 11 years, the two groups had nearly equal rates of heart attacks, strokes and deaths from heart disease.
Research has shown that, on average, people with type 2 diabetes have a two-fold higher risk of heart disease than people without the disease. This study was designed to see if diet and exercise in these people would reduce their risk.
The results of the study will be analyzed to better understand the links between fitness, weight, diabetes control and heart disease risks.