• Skip to main content
Search
  • Home
  • Services
      • Behavioral Health
      • Bloodless Medicine
      • Brain & Spine
      • Cancer Care
      • Ear, Nose and Throat
      • Emergency Care
      • Senior Health
      • Heart & Vascular Care
      • Home Health Care
      • Immediate Care
      • Medical Imaging
      • Minimally Invasive Surgery
      • Orthopedics
      • Pregnancy & Childbirth
      • Primary Care
      • Rehabilitation Services
      • Weight Loss Surgery
      • Wound Healing & Care
      • Women's Health
  • Doctors
      • Find a Primary Care Doctor
      • Find a Doctor
      • Physician Referral
      • Practices:

        Baptist Primary Care
      • Baptist AgeWell
      • Baptist Behavioral Health
      • Baptist Endocrinology
      • Baptist ENT Specialists
      • Baptist Heart Specialists
      • Baptist Infectious Diseases
      • Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Physicians
      • Baptist Neurology
      • Baptist Pediatrics
      • Baptist Pulmonary Specialists (Nassau)
      • Baptist Rheumatology
      • Baptist Urology Group (Nassau)
      • Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute
      • Lyerly Neurosurgery
  • Locations
    • Our Hospitals:

      • Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville
      • Baptist Medical Center South
      • Baptist Medical Center Beaches
      • Baptist Medical Center Nassau
      • Baptist Heart Hospital
      • Wolfson Children's Hospital

      Emergency Rooms (ER):

      • All ER Locations

      Imaging:

      • By Location

      • Imaging Center Locations
      • By Service

      • MRI
      • Bone Density
      • Screening Mammography
      • Diagnostic Mammography
      • Ultrasound
      • Vascular Ultrasound
      • CT Scan
      • PET Scan
      • Nuclear Medicine
      • X-Ray

      Urgent Care Locations:

      • Baptist Health Clinics at Walgreens
      • CareSpot Urgent Care

      Outpatient Locations:

      • AgeWell Center for Senior Health
      • Baptist Clay Medical Campus
      • Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center
      • Baptist Neurodiagnostic Center
      • Baptist North Medical Campus
      • Heart and Vascular Testing Centers
      • Hill Breast Center
      • Infusion Center
      • Pharmacy
      • Rehabilitation Centers
      • Robotic Spine Surgery
      • Sleep Centers
      • Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center
      • Surgery Centers
      • Wound Care

      Health & Wellness:

      • 4her Wellness Resources for Women
      • JCA Wellness Connexion
      • Y Healthy Living Centers
  • Patient Info
      • Billing & Insurance Information
      • Insurance Plans Accepted
      • Cost Estimate Request
      • Financial Assistance Program
      • My Baptist Connect (Patient Portal)
      • Medical Records
      • Classes and Events
      • Clinical Trials
      • Tell Us What You Think
  • Health Library
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Symptoms
      • Tests
      • Surgeries and Procedures
      • Injuries
      • Nutrition
      • Poison
      • Drug Information
      • Drug Images
      • Health News
      • Video Library
  • About Us
      • Administration
      • Awards & Honors
      • Careers
      • Provider Opportunities
      • Baptist MD Anderson Provider Opportunities
      • Spiritual Care
      • Social Responsibility
      • Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA)
      • Corporate Wellness (PATH)
      • Volunteering
      • Newsroom
  • Juice
      • Health News Overview:

      • Aging Well
      • Brain, Spine & Nerve
      • Cancer
      • Child Health
      • Community Health
      • Diabetes
      • Ear, Nose & Throat
      • Heart & Vascular
      • Lungs, Breathing & Sleep
      • Mental Health
      • Orthopedics, Bones & Muscles
      • Pregnancy & Childbirth
      • Primary Care
      • Wellness
      • Women's Health
      • Men's Health
  1. Home
  2. Health Library
  3. Health News
  4. You've Lost the Weight -- Now Keep It Off to Keep Diabetes at Bay

You've Lost the Weight -- Now Keep It Off to Keep Diabetes at Bay

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 9, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- The health of people with type 2 diabetes often improves dramatically with a 5% to 10% weight loss -- but to sustain the benefits, you need to keep the weight off, new research claims.

After losing weight with a yearlong intervention, blood sugar and blood pressure levels go down and cholesterol results improve. People who kept at least 75% of that weight off for another three years retained or had even greater health benefits, the study reported.

"A lot of times, the emphasis is put on weight-loss programs, but it's just as critical to help people maintain their weight loss," said study senior author Alice Lichtenstein. She's director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at Tufts University's Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging in Boston.

"People tend to think of diets as short-term, but it's really something that has to be lifelong. If you've found a successful way to lose weight, don't revert to old habits. Figure out how to incorporate the changes you made to lose weight," Lichtenstein suggested.

Excess weight is a major risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes. Studies have shown that losing weight can improve the symptoms of type 2 diabetes. And shedding around 10% of your body weight may even put the disease into remission, a recent study from Diabetic Medicine found.

The current study -- published Oct. 9 in the Journal of the American Heart Association -- included more than 1,500 people with type 2 diabetes who were recruited for an intensive lifestyle intervention that lasted one year.

After losing weight, participants entered a three-year maintenance phase that included monthly group meetings. They were encouraged to get regular physical activity and to use a single meal replacement product each day.

Lichtenstein and her team looked at blood pressure and levels of blood sugar, triglycerides (a type of blood fat linked to heart disease), and HDL (or "good") cholesterol. They checked just after the weight loss and again after three years of maintenance.

The researchers tried to find the specific point where people started to lose the benefits of weight reduction, but couldn't find one. But they did find that when people who lost 10% or more of their initial weight regained about one-quarter of the lost pounds, the health benefits began to wane.

"The more weight loss that is maintained, the better people will be in terms of [heart and metabolic] health. There's a long-term benefit from maintaining weight loss," Lichtenstein said.

Dr. Berhane Seyoum, chief of endocrinology at Detroit Medical Center, reviewed the study and said keeping weight off is no easy feat.

"Maintaining weight loss is the most difficult part as the body tries to bring back the weight that has been lost. Weight loss and maintenance is a lifetime struggle. You have to watch what you're eating and exercise," he said.

For type 2 diabetes patients who struggle with hunger, medications can help keep hunger at bay, Seyoum said.

More information

Get more advice on maintaining weight loss from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SOURCES: Alice Lichtenstein, D.Sc., lab director and senior scientist, Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, and professor, nutrition science and policy, Tufts University, Boston; Berhane Seyoum, M.D., M.P.H., chief, endocrinology, Detroit Medical Center and Wayne State University, Detroit; Oct. 9, 2019, Journal of the American Heart Association

Daily Health and Medical News

  • Babies May 'See' Light While in the Womb
    December 03, 2019

  • Uncontrolled Asthma a Danger to Pregnant Women, Babies
    December 03, 2019

  • Are E-Scooters a Quick Ticket to the ER?
    December 03, 2019

  • Taking Several Prescription Drugs May Trigger Serious Side Effects
    December 03, 2019

  • AHA News: Vegan Diet May Decrease Heart Disease, Stroke Risk in African Americans
    December 03, 2019

© Copyright 2019 | All Rights Reserved

If you speak another language, assistance services
free of charge, are available to you.

Baptist Health Facebook Baptist Health Twitter Baptist Health on LinkedIn Baptist Health on Instagram Baptist Health on Youtube
Physician Login | Application Login | Employee Login
Quality Measures | Privacy | Non-Discrimination | Comments | Site Map