Lifestyle interventions and type 2 diabetes

Glucose-lowering drugs or strategies reduce the risk for major adverse cardiovascular events and death in people with or at risk for type 2 diabetes, but their impact on heart failure may depend on weight loss, shows an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

The results of a small randomized trial suggest exercise is more helpful than diet for combating early cardiac dysfunction associated with type 2 diabetes, although both may be beneficial.

A clinical decision-making tool to assist type 2 diabetes management during fasting for Ramadan results in significant reductions in glycated hemoglobin and improvements in fasting blood glucose, researchers report.

Research indicates that efforts to improve diet on a population basis would do more to prevent diabetes in higher than lower socioeconomic status groups, because of the effect of multiple concurrent diabetes risk factors among less affluent people.

Restricting eating to within a 10-hour daily window results in weight loss and metabolic benefits for people with metabolic syndrome, report researchers in Cell Metabolism.

People who are trying to maintain weight loss with the help of electronic health records-based tracking tools do significantly better if they are given access to an online coach, shows a randomized trial.

Adding intensive weight management to group medical visits for type 2 diabetes leads to greater weight loss, reduced medication use, and fewer hypoglycemic events, with a similar improvement in glycemic control, research shows.

A pilot study published in JAMA shows that although heat stress is a potential issue for men with type 2 diabetes who wish to exercise, they may be able to acclimatize through repeated brief exposures.

Short-term structured strength and balance training does not improve quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes-related peripheral neuropathy, but may increase functional status and balance confidence, research shows.

The specific medications people are taking for diabetes can affect their success when they undertake a weight-loss program, say researchers.

The effectiveness of interventions to increase objectively measured physical activity in people at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes declines in line with symptoms of depression within the normal range, say researchers.

A systematic review and meta-analysis published in The BMJ confirms that intake of omega-3 fats does not influence the risk for or progression of type 2 diabetes.

Regularly counseling patients with diabetes about their lifestyles during routine care could benefit their long-term clinical outcomes, US research suggests, possibly due to improved blood glucose control.

A telephone-delivered, collaborative goal-setting intervention can significantly reduce depressive symptoms relative to usual care in people with uncontrolled diabetes and clinically significant depression, research shows.

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.

Genetics and dietary fat each influence people’s risk for developing type 2 diabetes, but without any interaction between the two, show the findings of an individual participant data meta-analysis.

The quality of the evidence for the role of specific dietary factors in type 2 diabetes incidence is generally poor and requires better conducted research with more detailed assessments, suggests an umbrella review of meta-analyses.

Increasing polyunsaturated fatty acid intake may decrease all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risk in people with type 2 diabetes, shows research published in The BMJ.

Meta-analysis data show that lifestyle modification interventions can reduce the risk for developing type 2 diabetes by more than a third in high-risk adults of South Asian origin.

People who achieved sustained remission of type 2 diabetes via substantial weight loss in the DiRECT trial regained normal maximal beta-cell capacity, the investigators report.