8 Ways Weight Loss Improves Type 2 Diabetes
Maintaining a healthy weight has its obvious health benefits — but it can also help you better manage type 2 diabetes. Losing weight can bolster your blood sugar control and lower your risk for diabetes complications like high blood pressure and plaque buildup in the arteries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nudging down the number on the scale by just 5 to 10 percent has been shown to help some people reduce the amount of diabetes medication they need, according to one article.
“Weight loss is very high on the priority list [for people with type 2 diabetes],” says Joanne Rinker, RDN, CDCES, associate director of medical education and affairs at Mannkind.
Rinker admits that dropping pounds isn’t easy, but when you succeed, you’ll reap a host of health benefits. Read on!
Improved Insulin Resistance
With type 2 diabetes, your body doesn’t properly respond to the insulin produced by the pancreas, and your blood glucose levels go up, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). That’s called insulin resistance, and it’s often linked to excess weight, according to the CDC.
“Having that weight loss will actually help make the body more sensitive to the insulin and allow that insulin resistance to decrease,” says Joelle Malinowski, RD, CDCES, who works with Ellis Medicine in Schenectady, New York. Your body becomes more efficient and can use the insulin more easily, Rinker explains. According to a previous study, insulin sensitivity seems to improve as a result of weight loss because the inflammatory responses in the muscles decrease.
And when insulin resistance goes down, that’s a good thing for diabetes management.
Better A1C Results
Since insulin sensitivity improves with weight loss, you’ll see better results when your doctor does an A1C test. An A1C test provides a picture of your average blood glucose levels over the previous two to three months, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
A study review found that people with type 2 diabetes who participated in Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, and Optifast weight loss programs saw their A1C levels go down after 6 or 12 months, depending on the plan. That said, research has found that the best diet for weight loss for any individual is one they’ll stick with.
“This is why lifestyle change through diet and exercise is the best treatment for type 2 diabetes,” says Deena Adimoolam, MD, an endocrinologist at Summit Health in Clifton, New Jersey.
RELATED: 5 Ways to Lower Your A1C
Lower Blood Pressure and Improve Cholesterol
Heart trouble and diabetes are linked, and high blood pressure and cholesterol levels are common conditions among people with type 2 diabetes, according to the CDC. High blood pressure can end up damaging artery walls, and having too much LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and triglycerides, another blood fat, can lead to buildup on the damaged artery walls — and further complications.
Excess weight adds to the problem. “Obesity is a known risk factor for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and coronary artery disease,” Dr. Adimoolam says.
But losing weight can lower your risk. In a study of 401 people who were overweight or obese, those who lost 5 to 10 percent of their body weight significantly lowered their total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol. Those who lost more than 10 percent saw even more improvement. High-risk patients also significantly lowered their fasting glucose levels.
Decreased Risk for Vascular Damage
Another reason to work on weight loss: Obesity and insulin resistance are associated with vascular inflammation, according to research.
As obesity progresses, cells in the body that store fat (adipocytes) become enlarged and stressed, which can increase inflammation, per an article. This can lead to atherosclerosis, a disease marked by the buildup of plaque in the arteries, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Exercise and weight loss lower insulin resistance and also can lead to a reduction in the amount of a certain molecule found in blood that’s involved in inflammation, according to the aforementioned research.
RELATED: 8 Ways to Manage Diabetes and Heart Health
Reduced Risk of Sleep Apnea
Diabetes also heightens the chance you’ll experience sleep apnea, a sleep disorder that presents as abnormal breathing during sleep, according to SleepFoundation.org. As many as 71 percent of adults with type 2 diabetes have obstructive sleep apnea, according to research. Experts have found that weight loss can improve obstructive sleep apnea.
What’s more, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, sleeping well may help you get better control of your blood sugar, since sleep loss leads to increased insulin resistance.
Sleep loss can hurt diabetes management in other ways, too. According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, not sleeping well can zap the motivation to exercise and increase hunger because of hormone disruption; and poor diet and lack of exercise further exacerbate problems with blood sugar control, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Increased Mobility
According to one study, people with type 2 diabetes are twice as likely to have mobility-related issues as people who don’t have the disease. The study authors noted that mobility-related issues increase as the level of obesity and physical inactivity increases. People with diabetes also often have bone and joint issues, which can limit activity, whether because of nerve damage, obesity, or arterial disease, says the Mayo Clinic. The good news is that losing weight will likely make day-to-day activities easier and help keep mobility-related issues at bay.
In this case, a little weight loss can go a long way: The researchers behind the study found that losing 1 percent of body weight decreased an individual’s mobility problems by more than 7 percent.
RELATED: 6 Great Exercises for People With Diabetes
Increased Energy and Improved Mood
Rinker sees it time and again: When people lose weight through a healthy diet and exercise, their energy level goes up and their mood improves. According to the CDC, losing weight and keeping it off leads to improvements in self-confidence, too.
“Weight loss can really help our mental health, because people feel better about themselves and better about the choices they’re making,” Rinker says. This boost may give people motivation to better manage their diabetes and continue their healthy habits.
Delay in Disease Progression
For the 88 million Americans with prediabetes, a term used for people with higher-than-normal blood sugar levels that aren’t high enough to be type 2 diabetes, weight loss can lower the risk of advancing to type 2 diabetes, according to the CDC. “Losing weight can help to reduce insulin resistance and may even delay or prevent complications from arising,” says Kimberly Rose-Francis, RDN, a certified diabetes care and education specialist based in Sebring, Florida.
But what about for people who have already been diagnosed? Turns out, slimming down may help them, too, and change the course of the disease. One study found that 40 percent of study participants who lost about 33 pounds and maintained that weight loss for six months were able to send the condition into remission.
It should be noted, however, that this doesn’t mean diabetes just went away. “Diabetes cannot be reversed, but it can go into remission, meaning the signs and symptoms are reduced,” Rose-Francis says. And, unfortunately, the changes aren’t permanent. “If someone who is in remission goes back to their same unhealthy eating and drinking habits, then diabetes can come out of remission and flare back up,” Rose-Francis says.
RELATED: 8 Steps for Weight Loss Success if You Have Type 2 Diabetes
Making the Most of Weight Loss Benefits
In general, Rinker recommends choosing lifestyle changes you can sustain rather than relying on fad diets for weight loss and weight management.
For example, the ADA suggests starting with the pillars of healthy eating: adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet, as well as lean meats and plant-based protein, and limiting processed foods and added sugar. Before you know it, you’ll be a pro at managing your weight as well as type 2 diabetes and its complications.
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