- Type 2 diabetes is linked to obesity, and it can go into remission in people who lose weight.
- A recent study of over 35,000 people with type 2 diabetes in Hong Kong has shown that while weight loss does increase the chance of remission, this is hard to achieve in real-world settings, and also to sustain.
- Just 6.1% of people in the cohort saw their type 2 diabetes in remission at the 8-year landmark.
The number of people with type 2 diabetes rose
Type 2 diabetes has many risk factors, including some genetic and environmental factors, but increased body weight and lack of exercise are both linked to the condition.
Diabetes is characterized by a chronic rise in glucose (blood sugar), due to insulin resistance in cells. Insulin is a hormone that allows the uptake of glucose by cells in the body, where it is used an as energy source.
Insulin is produced in response to increased glucose levels in order to facilitate this. However, some peoples’ cells become less responsive to insulin, meaning that their glucose levels rise.
Obesity can increase the risk of insulin resistance occurring, and can in fact trigger it. This may occur as some of the hormones and immune cells and molecules that play a role in insulin resistance are released by fat cells.
Obesity can also make it difficult to treat diabetes as some of the treatments that people with type 2 diabetes receive for their symptoms can cause weight gain, which can in turn worsen glucose control.
Weight loss can lead to remission of type 2 diabetes in some patients. This weight loss can be achieved via lifestyle changes or through weight loss surgery, as a study published in
A trial carried out in the United Kingdom, published in
These studies…
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