Weight
loss in individuals with Type 2 Diabetes is encouraged by the medical
profession when the patient is overweight or obese, less fat means less insulin
to worry about, right? In a recent New
York Times article investigated previous studies and
emerging research on this topic. In March, a previous article in the
paper discussed weight loss surgery as an effective treatment option. These studies followed
subjects for less than two years and were quite small.
According
to the journal Obesity
Surgery, 1,000 diabetics were tracked for ten years. While diabetes
in these patients "went away" for a period of time, the disease still
came back (even in the patients that didn't regain any weight post surgery).
"The
researchers found that three factors were particularly good predictors of who
was likely to have a relapse of diabetes."
Those
most likely to have a relapse of the condition had poor blood sugar control,
had diabetes for a period of time (years were not specified), and were taking
insulin.
“But almost universally, patients lose
weight after weight loss surgery, and that in and of itself may have so many
health benefits.”
Source:
O'Connor, Anahad. "Weight Loss
Surgery May Not Combat Diabetes Long-Term." Well. The New York
Times, 11 2012. Web. Web. 2 Dec. 2012.
<http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/28/weight-loss-surgery-may-not-combat-diabetes-long-term/?ref=health>.
