{"id":332,"date":"2019-05-11T06:12:24","date_gmt":"2019-05-11T06:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/magazine.diabetesasia.org\/?p=332"},"modified":"2025-04-17T10:44:18","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T05:14:18","slug":"why-loose-weight-reverses-type2-diabetes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diabetesasia.org\/magazine\/why-loose-weight-reverses-type2-diabetes\/","title":{"rendered":"Why loose weight reverses type2 diabetes?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Why does losing weight reverse type 2 diabetes?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Peter Maher, a retired teacher in London, says weight has been a long-term issue for him. But when it inched up, even more, a few years ago, his type 2 diabetes<\/a><\/span><\/strong> became more unmanageable. Soon after the scale read 245 pounds, he remembers catching a glimpse of himself in a mirror.” I saw this great, fat person staring back at me,” recalls Maher, now 71. “That was my eureka moment.” Knowing he had to take action, he consulted \u201cDr. Google.\u201dHe found a London doctor who had published research about how substantial weight loss can reverse type 2 diabetes. In late 2015, he emailed Roy Taylor, MD, at Newcastle University and said he’d like to go on the plan Taylor had devised. The response? “You and 20,000 others.<\/p>\n

\"Why<\/p>\n

Diabetes<\/strong> and Exercise<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
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Taylor’s plan was so popular, he could take on no more people. Maher persisted, so Taylor sent him detailed directions and the protocol — a strict\u00a0<\/span>liquid diet of 800 calories at first, with regular food then phased in. The liquid diet consists of four servings of soup or vitamin-rich shakes. By September 2016, after months of\u00a0<\/span>dieting, Maher had lost 66 pounds and was able to go off all his\u00a0<\/span>diabetes\u00a0medicines, including\u00a0<\/span>insulin. His general practitioner said he had truly resolved his diabetes<\/span><\/strong>. And he had had the disease for about 30 years. Now, he is one of Taylor’s poster patients — he’s kept off most of the weight<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>and still does not need insulin or other diabetes medicines.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Reversing Type 2<\/h2>\n

While doctors have known for years that weight loss can not only prevent diabetes but sometimes reverse it, recently, Taylor has found new clues as to why. Type 2 diabetes, he says, “is simply due to too much fat inside the liver and pancreas of people who happen to be susceptible to the fat-induced damage.” Losing a substantial amount of weight can kill off that fat, often allowing the organs to work again, including a return to normal insulin production by the pancreas.<\/p>\n

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Choosing a Weight Loss Program That Works for You<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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If you\u2019re ready to lose weight, the first step is finding a program that you\u2019ll stick with.<\/div>\n
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ABOUT As a result of his research and his success stories, Taylor encourages other doctors to stop turning to diabetes medicines right away and more strongly encourage weight loss as the first step for their patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. And the sooner, the better, he says. While Maher reversed his diabetes decades later, that’s not typical, Taylor says. The ideal management, he says, is to start serious weight loss efforts right away.”As you would expect, people have a different length of the window when they remain reversible,” Taylor says. “For some, even 3 years is too late.”<\/div>\n
\"Choosing<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Behind the Weight Loss Advice<\/h2>\n

In an earlier study, Taylor’s team assigned 149 patients to the strict weight loss program and another 149 to usual care, such as treatment with medications. Most were diagnosed within the previous 6 years before the start of the study. After a year, only 4% of the usual care patients had remission of diabetes, but 46% of those on the weight loss program did. The more they lost, the higher the chances of reversal. While 7% of patients who lost less than 11 pounds went into remission, 86% of those who lost 33 pounds or more did, Taylor found. In general, \u201cremission\u201d in diabetes means a person\u2019s blood sugar levels remain normal. While some refer to this as a \u201ccure,\u201d diabetes is not a \u201cone and done\u201d disease. That is, it could always return if the patient regains weight or returns to unhealthy habits. In 2009, a group of diabetes experts wrote that \u201cremission\u201d is a term used when a person has normal blood sugar levels for one year without therapy or surgery. \u00a0 \u00a0 Sugar is sweet, but too much of it can sour your health. Whole foods like fruits, veggies, dairy, and grains have natural sugars. Your body digests those carbs slowly so your cells get a steady supply of energy. Added sugars, on the other hand, come in packaged foods and drinks. Your body does not need any added sugars. Sugary drinks in particular can boost your odds of type 2 diabetes. That can happen because when sugar stays in your blood, your body may react by making less of the hormone insulin, which converts the food you eat into energy. Or the insulin doesn\u2019t work as well. If you\u2019re overweight, dropping even 10-15 pounds can help you manage your blood sugar.<\/p>\n

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Type\u00a02 diabetes primarily occurs as a result of\u00a0obesity<\/a>\u00a0and lack of exercise.<\/sup>\u00a0Some people are more\u00a0genetically<\/a>\u00a0at risk than others.<\/sup><\/p>\n

Type 2 diabetes makes up about 90% of cases of\u00a0diabetes<\/a>, with the other 10% due primarily to\u00a0type 1 diabetes<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0gestational diabetes<\/a>.<\/sup> In type 1 diabetes, there is a lower total level of insulin to control blood glucose, due to an autoimmune-induced\u00a0loss of insulin-producing\u00a0beta cells\u00a0in the\u00a0pancreas.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0Diagnosis of diabetes is by blood tests such as\u00a0fasting plasma glucose,\u00a0oral glucose tolerance test, or\u00a0glycated hemoglobin\u00a0(A1C).<\/sup><\/p>\n

Type 2 diabetes is largely preventable by staying at a normal weight, exercising\u00a0regularly, and eating properly.<\/sup>\u00a0Treatment involves exercise and\u00a0dietary changes.<\/sup>\u00a0If blood sugar levels are not adequately lowered, the medication\u00a0metformin\u00a0is typically recommended.<\/sup><\/sup> Many people may eventually also require insulin injections.<\/sup> In those on insulin, routinely checking blood sugar levels is advised; however, this may not be needed in those taking pills.<\/sup>\u00a0Bariatric surgery<\/a>\u00a0often improves diabetes in those who are obese.<\/sup><\/sup><\/p>\n

Rates of type\u00a02 diabetes have increased markedly since 1960 in parallel with obesity.<\/sup> As of 2015, there were approximately 392\u00a0million people diagnosed with the disease compared to around 30\u00a0million in 1985.<\/sup><\/sup> Typically, it begins in middle or older age,<\/sup>\u00a0although rates of type 2 diabetes are increasing in young people.<\/sup><\/sup> Type 2 diabetes is associated with a ten-year shorter life expectancy.<\/sup>\u00a0Diabetes was one of the first diseases described.<\/sup>\u00a0The importance of insulin in the disease was determined in the 1920s.<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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