Weight Loss after Diabetes Diagnosis Improves Health

Newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics who lose weight soon after their diagnosis gain better control of their blood pressure and blood sugar, says a study in the journal Diabetes Care.

It also is a benefit that lasts even if a person regains that weight.

"If you lose weight after diagnosis, you can achieve some long-term benefits in terms of blood pressure and glycemic control that extend even beyond the point at which you regain weight," says Gregory A. Nichols, Ph.D., co-author of the article.

Dr. Spyros Mezitis, at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, says he has not seen results like this before.

He says this shows that with a significant average weight loss of 23.5 pounds in 18 months, there is an improvement despite weight regain after 36 months.

Better Health Reduces Complications

More than 20 million Americans now have type 2 diabetes, and many are either overweight or obese.

Studies have shown that weight loss is important to maintain blood sugar and blood pressure control, as well as to keep cholesterol levels in check.

These parameters, in turn, are critical for avoiding the long-term complications of diabetes, such as heart disease, blindness, kidney damage, amputations, and even death.

Dr. Nichols, a researcher with the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health in Portland, Oregon, and his team looked at electronic medical records, spanning 1997 to 2002, for 2,574 patients ages 21 through 75 who had been recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

The participants were grouped into weight loss categories and followed for four years.

Just over 12 percent of the participants were in the "weight loss" group, with a mean weight loss of more than 25 pounds. Almost all of those pounds were regained by 36 months.

The other groups were labeled as "higher stable weight," "lower stable weight," or "weight gain."

Patients who lost weight were more likely to reach blood pressure and blood sugar targets during the fourth year, although, by then, they had regained the weight.

Weight Loss also Improves Blood Pressure

The researchers acknowledged, however, that they do not know what happens after the four-year mark, and they do not know why the benefit was sustained.

"It's entirely possible that one of the explanations here is that if we looked at 15 years, we wouldn't find that benefit continuing," says Dr. Nichols.

Dr. Nichols hopes to explore a number of other questions, including whether there was a difference in benefit between people who regained weight and those who kept it off.

Whatever the final answers, "losing weight is a good idea, even if you regain it," notes Dr. Nichols.

Dr. Mezitis says, "We do ask that those diabetics who are overweight lose weight, and that, in general, improves all the factors that affect vascular disease, and that's blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol."

Always consult your physician for more information.