Scientists from the Munich Helmholtz Institute for Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases at the University of Tübingen have discovered that losing weight effectively prevents prediabetes from developing into diabetes in some people.
Diabetologia magazine indicates that 480 volunteers suffer from pre-diabetes. That is, the level of glucose (sugar) in their blood is higher than the normal range, but it has not yet reached the level of diabetes. Prediabetes is a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes.
The study participants were required to follow a diet that should result in a weight loss of at least 7 percent for each of them by the end of the study. Indeed, 114 participants had their prediabetes symptoms regress, meaning that their fasting blood sugar, glycated hemoglobin, and glucose tolerance levels returned to normal.
The blood sugar level of the remaining 366 participants did not show any noticeable improvement, even though they lost the required amount of weight.
The researchers note that very few people in the group who lost weight and achieved a reduction in prediabetes developed diabetes, but overall, the reduction in prediabetes contributed to a 76 percent lower risk of developing diabetes, compared with people who did not achieve a reduction in blood sugar to normal levels.
The researchers did not explain why the other participants' metabolism did not improve even after losing weight. Although researchers believed that to normalize blood sugar levels, weight must be reduced to a level appropriate for each person.