Be Proactive, Get Active!- Type 2 Diabetes Prevention
Written by Carlos Rendon
Edited by Emily Fucarino
Jan 23rd 2022
Edited by Emily Fucarino
Jan 23rd 2022
In the United States, 1 in 10 people have diabetes, with most suffering from Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is caused when insulin is no longer recognized by the body’s cells. This leads to a build up of sugar in the blood because insulin is the hormone that lets blood sugar enter body cells. Potential complications of Type 2 diabetes include heart disease, nerve damage, and abnormal skin conditions.
In the past, Type 2 diabetes treatment mainly involved lowering blood glucose levels or addressing the symptoms associated with chronically high blood sugar levels, such as fatigue, numbness in the hands and legs, blurry vision, weight changes, and frequent infections. A group of medical experts from multiple diabetic research centers (Lingway et. al, 2021) recently identified a proactive strategy for Type 2 diabetes that is focused on obesity management rather than treatment.
The study describes how high blood sugar in Type 2 diabetes is associated with weight gain, an increase in body fat percentage, and insulin resistance that may develop decades before any symptoms appear (Lingvay et al. 2021). According to the CDC, from 2017-2018, 42.4% of adults in the United States were classified as obese, which is concerning given that obesity is a big factor in developing Type 2 diabetes.
In a weight loss study on Type 2 diabetics, 70% of participants who lost over 15 kg of weight were able to maintain normal blood sugar levels without any other medications or interventions (Lingvay et al. 2021). Dieting and lifestyle changes can help with weight loss, but the researchers found that a long term solution was difficult to achieve (Lingvay et al. 2021).
There are many factors such as genetics, access to high quality nutritional food, and time for physical activity that vary from person to person and impact weight (Lingvay et al. 2021). Also, dieting for weight loss causes metabolic changes in the body that make it easier to regain weight. It was found that consistent weight loss over a 6 month period was then followed by a 1-3 year period of weight regain (Lingvay et al. 2021).
Other possible weight loss methods include gastric bypass surgery (also known as bariatric surgery), and medications that help with weight loss, by reducing hunger levels for example (Lingvay et al. 2021). Bariatric surgery helps lower blood sugar levels and can lead to weight loss of up to 27% on average, along with improving metabolic changes caused by Type 2 diabetes (Lingvay et al. 2021).
Although there are some challenges with maintaining weight loss, this study provides ample evidence for the benefits of weight loss for the management and prevention of Type 2 diabetes. More work is needed to improve nutritional access and time for physical activity in the US to make weight management a viable long term solution.
Works Cited
Lingvay, Ildiko; Sumithran, Priya; Cohen, Ricardo V.; le Roux, Carel W, (2021). Obesity management as a primary treatment goal for type 2 diabetes: time to reframe the conversation. The Lancet, DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01919-X
UT Southwestern Medical Center. (2021, September 30). Paradigm shift in treatment of type 2
diabetes to focus on weight loss. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 16, 2021 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210930213702.htm
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