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08-07-2019 | Diet | News

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DiRECT to the Caribbean

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medwireNews: The very-low-calorie diet intervention used in the DiRECT trial is feasible and associated with type 2 diabetes remission in residents of Barbados, researchers report.

In this feasibility study involving 25 people with type 2 diabetes diagnosed within the preceding 6 years, the average weight loss during the 8-week liquid diet phase was 10.1 kg, although the participants regained an average of 1.8 kg over the following 6 months.

By the end of the diet phase, 60% of participants had achieved a fasting plasma glucose level below 7 mmol/L, rising to 82% of those who lost more than 10 kg. Six months later this had declined to 37.5%, however.

Nigel Unwin (University of Cambridge, UK) and study co-authors note that type 2 diabetes rates in the Caribbean population are “among the highest in the world.”

The study participants identified a number of barriers to weight loss particular to their culture, including pressure to eat a lot at social events, a diet traditionally heavy in carbohydrates and starchy foods, and negative comments about rapid weight loss in men.

“Our findings highlight the importance of social support and self-efficacy in navigating this environment and can guide improvements in the design of the intervention,” write the researchers in Diabetic Medicine.

By Eleanor McDermid

medwireNews is an independent medical news service provided by Springer Healthcare. © 2019 Springer Healthcare part of the Springer Nature group

Diabet Med 2019; doi:10.1111/dme.14096

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