A few kilograms of weight loss nearly halves the risk of diabetes.

-

 

A few kilograms of weight loss nearly halves the risk of diabetes.





Losing a few kilograms in weight almost halves people's risk of developing Type 2 diabetes -- according to a large scale research study led by the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and the University of East Anglia.

A new study published in the international journal JAMA Internal Medicine shows how providing support to help people with prediabetes make small changes to their lifestyle, diet, and physical activity can almost halve the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

The findings come from the Norfolk Diabetes Prevention Study (NDPS) -- the largest diabetes prevention research study in the world in the last 30 years. The NDPS clinical trial ran over eight years and involved more than 1,000 people with prediabetes at a high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

The study found that support to make modest lifestyle changes, including losing two to three kilograms of weight and increased physical activity over two years, reduced Type 2 diabetes risk by 40 to 47 percent for those categorized as having prediabetes.

About eight million people with prediabetes in the UK and 4.5 million have already developed Type 2 diabetes.

The NDPS, funded by £2.5m from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), and NIHR CRN Eastern, was led by the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) and University of East Anglia (UEA), together with colleagues from Ipswich Hospital, and the Universities of Birmingham and Exeter.

The research trial tested a simple lifestyle intervention, which helped people make small achievable lifestyle changes that led to a modest weight loss and physical activity increases.

These changes were important for at least two years, and the weight loss was not put back on.

These findings are important as they show that a 'real-world' lifestyle program can make a difference in helping people reduce their risk of Type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes.

Prof Mike Sampson, NDPS Chief Investigator and Consultant in Diabetes at NNUH, said: "We are delighted with the results of this trial, as until now no one was very sure if a real-world lifestyle program prevented Type 2 diabetes in the prediabetes population we studied, as there have been no clinical trials that had shown this.

"We have now shown a significant effect in Type 2 diabetes prevention, and we can be very optimistic that even a modest weight loss, and an increase in physical activity, in real-world programs like this have a big effect on the risk of getting Type 2 diabetes.

"This is really great news for the eight million people in the UK with a prediabetes diagnosis. This trial shows that diabetes prevention is possible in the same prediabetes populations being treated in the NHS national diabetes prevention program.

"This is important to know, as the clinical methods for diagnosing diabetes and prediabetes have changed a lot in recent years."

The Norfolk Diabetes Prevention Study ran between 2011 and 2018 and worked with 135 GP practices in the East of England, and found 144,000 people at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

In screening sites across the East of England, 13,000 of these people then took fasting glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) blood tests to detect prediabetes.

More than 1,000 people with prediabetes were then entered into a randomized controlled trial, testing a pragmatic, real-world lifestyle intervention, compared to a control group, with an average follow-up of just over two years.

Earlier studies have used quite intense and expensive research interventions in different groups of prediabetes participants, but this is the first time a real-world group delivered intervention has been shown to reduce Type 2 diabetes risk.

NDPS also asked lay members of the public who had Type 2 diabetes to help support participants with prediabetes in the trial. Still, this did not further reduce the risk of getting Type 2 diabetes for this particular population.

NDPS co-investigator Prof Max Bachmann, from UEA's Norwich Medical School, said: "The NDPS intervention was delivered in groups which were far less expensive than individual-focused interventions which have previously shown to be effective under optimal conditions.

"For every 11 people who received the NDPS intervention, one person was prevented from getting Type 2 diabetes, which is a real breakthrough."

Prof Colin Greaves from the University of Birmingham, who jointly led the development of the NDPS intervention, said: "If you have been diagnosed with prediabetes, this approach offers a way to take a different direction in your life -- to get off the path to type 2 diabetes and onto the road to a healthier future."

Dr. Jane Smith, the NDPS collaborator from the University of Exeter, said: "Type 2 diabetes is a huge health challenge globally. NDPS is an incredibly positive story for individuals and healthcare systems, and underlines the importance of providing national diabetes prevention programs, which can use our research findings."

Prof Jonathan Valabhji, National Clinical Director for Diabetes and Obesity for NHS England, said: "This study with similar referral criteria and similar intensive lifestyle intervention to the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme has surpassed expectations in preventing Type 2 diabetes. This is hugely encouraging for the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, and what participants might expect to achieve in the longer term."

Dr. Elizabeth Robertson, Director of Research at Diabetes UK, said: "We welcome this new research showing that a group-based support program can help people at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes reduce their risk.

"This trial again highlights how achieving modest weight loss through diet, and physical activity changes can lead to huge benefits for people at high risk of developing type 2. Type 2 diabetes is a serious condition, but many cases can be prevented or delayed with the right help.

"Diabetes UK's Know Your Risk' tool helps people to determine their risk and take steps to reduce it, including by self-referring on to NHS England's Diabetes Prevention Programme in their local area."


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PEOPLE WITH OBESITY BURN LESS CALORIES DURING THE DAY

-
Image
  PEOPLE WITH OBESITY BURN LESS CALORIES DURING THE DAY Building on prior studies with healthy-weight participants, the new research includes different body sizes.         New research indicates that weight influences how and when bodies burn energy. An Oregon Health & Science University study published in the journal  Obesity  found people who have a healthy weight use more energy during the day, when most people are active and eat, while those who are obese spend more energy during the night when most people sleep. The study also found that during the day, those with obesity have higher levels of the hormone insulin -- a sign that the body is working harder to use glucose, an energy-packed sugar. "It was surprising to learn how dramatically the timing of when our bodies burn energy differed in those with obesity," said the study's first author, Andrew McHill, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the OHSU School of Nursing and the Oregon Institute of ...
Read more

WHAT CAUSES ITCHING, AND WHAT STOPS IT?

-
Image
  WHAT CAUSES ITCHING, AND WHAT STOPS IT?         It can be a relief to scratch the occasional itch, but when itch gets out of control, it can become a severe health problem. How does the body know when to stop? Scientists at UC San Francisco are getting close to an answer. In a breakthrough that could transform how doctors treat conditions from eczema to allergies, they have discovered a feedback loop centered on a single immune protein called IL-31 that causes the urge to itch and dials back nearby inflammation. The findings, published on October 13th in  Science Immunology , lay the groundwork for a new generation of drugs that interact more intelligently with the body's innate self-regulating ability. Previous approaches suggested that IL-31 signals itch and promotes skin inflammation. However, the UCSF team discovered that nerve cells, or neurons, that respond to IL-31, triggering a scratch, also prevent immune cells from overreacting and causing more ...
Read more

A VEGAN DIET IMPROVES CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH, ACCORDING TO A NEW STUDY

-
Image
  A VEGAN DIET IMPROVES CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH, ACCORDING TO A NEW STUDY         In a study with 22 pairs of identical twins, Stanford Medicine researchers and their colleagues have found that a vegan diet improves cardiovascular health in as little as eight weeks. Although it's well-known that eating less meat improves cardiovascular health, diet studies often need to be enhanced by genetic differences, upbringing, and lifestyle choices. By studying identical twins, however, the researchers were able to control for genetics and limit the other factors, as the twins grew up in the same households and reported similar lifestyles. "Not only did this study provide a groundbreaking way to assert that a vegan diet is healthier than the conventional omnivore diet, but the twins were also a riot to work with," said Christopher Gardner, Ph.D., the Rehnborg Farquhar Professor and a professor of medicine. "They dressed the same, they talked the same, and they had a banter ...
Read more