Type 2 Diabetes Patients Achieve Remission with Exercise and Diet

Sep, 2020 - By SMI

A recent study has presented strong evidence which affirms that lifestyle interventions such as exercise and diet are highly effective in reversing type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is caused by the body’s inability to make effective use of insulin. The World Health Organisation suggests following a healthy diet, regular physical training, avoiding use of tobacco, and maintaining normal body weight to prevent and delay the inception of type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, extensive research has established that several people can beat the disease through lifestyle interventions and not rely on medications. The recent study included over 150 participants around the age of 40 years and were in the initial stages of type 2 diagnosis. The participants were classified into a control group who received standard care and an intervention group who followed an intensive exercise and diet program.

The intervention group followed the Cambridge Weight Plan for 12 weeks, and then transitioned into a general diet which focused on controlling calorie intake. The participants were also asked to exercise for 150 minutes each week and walk at least 10,000 steps daily. After a year, the results showed that the intervention group lost around 12 kg compared to the average 4 kg weight loss in the control group. Furthermore, over 60% of the participants in the intervention group were not diabetic by the end of the study. Around 12% of the participants in the control group achieved similar level of remission. According to co-investigator, Shahrad Taheri, the results can pose as a significant shift in managing type 2 diabetes, and that losing weight in the initial stages of diagnosis can help in bringing about a reversal of the disease. The team hopes that this study could alter the clinical approach in treating diabetes by combining early evaluation and lifestyle intervention to prevent this disorder completely instead of relying on a lifelong dose of medicines.