Lifestyle interventions and type 2 diabetes

Following a low glycemic index or glycemic load diet in addition to standard treatment is associated with improvements in glycemic control and other cardiometabolic risk factors in people with diabetes, suggest the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Divergent changes in brain activity after bariatric surgery versus a very-low-calorie diet may help explain why people are more likely to regain weight after the latter intervention, a study suggests.

Blood pressure falls markedly when people with type 2 diabetes undertake a very-low-calorie diet, and immediate withdrawal of antihypertensive medications has few ill effects, say the DiRECT investigators.

Fewer than one in 10 people with type 2 diabetes in low- and middle-income countries receive treatment in line with World Health Organization recommendations, shows a global analysis.

Women naturally have lower levels of hepatic and pancreatic fat than men, but having type 2 diabetes removes this advantage and confers a relatively larger increase in cardiovascular risk, show further data from DiRECT.

Findings from a modeling study suggest that community-based exercise and cognitive behavioral therapy interventions for depression in people with type 2 diabetes are cost-effective in the long-term.

Delaying progression from impaired glucose tolerance to type 2 diabetes reduces the risk for micro- and macrovascular complications, shows 24 years of follow-up of the Da Qing trial.

A systematic review and meta-analysis highlights a potential increase in the likelihood of achieving type 2 diabetes remission on a low- or very-low-carbohydrate diet, but based on evidence of moderate or low quality.

Ghrelin is the only appetite-related hormone that predicted weight regain among the participants of the DiRECT trial, say the researchers.

A dog with diabetes may be a novel early warning sign for diabetes risk in its owner, according to a study in the Christmas edition of The BMJ.

People with type 2 diabetes have around a fourfold increased risk for heart disease relative to those without, but having a healthy lifestyle may lessen this risk, researchers report.

The risk for heart failure falls significantly with reductions in fat mass and waist circumference in overweight or obese people with type 2 diabetes, shows an analysis of data from the Look AHEAD trial.

Sustained remission of type 2 diabetes in DiRECT was accompanied by normalization of pancreatic morphology, say the researchers.

The pilot MIDDAS study suggests that a 2-day per week very-low-calorie diet could be a viable alternative to a continuous diet for people with type 2 diabetes who struggle with this approach.

The strongest predictor of type 2 diabetes remission is weight loss, with other variables only modestly associated with outcome and insufficient to identify people unsuitable for attempting this goal, shows a post-hoc analysis of DiRECT data.

Among people with obesity and type 2 diabetes, substantial weight loss is associated with similar metabolic benefits irrespective of whether it is achieved through gastric bypass surgery or diet, suggests research published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Two prospective studies published in The BMJ add to the evidence that higher intake of fruit, vegetables, and wholegrain foods is associated with a decreased risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

Focusing efforts on convincing people to return after the first session of the US National Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle change program, and after the transition to less frequent sessions, may help to optimize program retention, say researchers.

The increased risk for prediabetes among ethnic minorities compared with White people is less pronounced in neighborhoods with high walkability, shows a Canadian study.

The DIADEM-I randomized trial demonstrates substantial remission of type 2 diabetes in people from the Middle East and in north Africa after they undertake a total meal-replacement very-low-calorie diet.