An online weight management program designed for people with type 2 diabetes led to weight loss as well as improved blood glucose control, according to a new study presented at ObesityWeek, the annual meeting of the Obesity Society, and described in an article at Healio.
Previous research has shown that in people with type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity, losing body weight can result in blood glucose improvements. This seems to be the case regardless of exactly how weight loss occurs. Studies have shown that remission of type 2 diabetes — normal blood glucose levels without taking any glucose-lowering medications — is linked to the amount of weight people lose following bariatric surgery. At the same time, low-calorie diets and meal replacements have been shown to be effective for weight loss and diabetes remission. Following a low-carbohydrate vegan diet has also been shown to lead to weight loss and improved blood glucose control in people with type 2 diabetes. Even for people with type 2 diabetes who have a normal body weight or are only slightly overweight, losing weight has been shown to increase the chances of diabetes remission.
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For the latest study, 136 adults with type 2 diabetes took part in an online weight management program from WW (fromerly known as WeightWatchers) that was tailored to people with diabetes. The average age of participants was 56.8, and 80% were women. All participants had a body-mass index (BMI, a measure of body weight that takes height into account) between 27 and 50, ranging from overweight to severe obesity. Most participants — 62% — had an A1C level (a measure of long-term blood glucose control) between 7% and 8%, while 38% had an A1C level between 8% and 11% at the beginning of the study. An A1C level below 7% is widely recommend as a goal for people with diabetes, so all participants had room for improvement when it came to this measure. The online program lasted for 24 weeks, and 83% of participants completed it and were included in the study results.
Online WW program linked to reductions in A1C
At the beginning of the study, participants with an A1C level of 8% or lower tended to have a slightly lower average BMI — 36.6 compared with 37.4 for participants with an A1C level above 8%. After 12 weeks of following the WW program, participants who started with an A1C level of 8% or lower saw an average A1C reduction of 0.3%, while participants who started with an A1C level above 8% saw an average drop of 1.1%. After 24 weeks of following the program, participants who started with an A1C level of 8% or lower had an average drop of 0.4% since the beginning of the study, while participants who started with an A1c level above 8% had an average drop of 1.4%.
Both groups of participants — those who started with an A1C level of 8% or lower, and those who started with a higher A1C level — also experienced weight loss. After 12 weeks, average weight loss was 4.0% of body weight in the lower A1C group and 3.7% in the higher A1C group. After 24 weeks, average weight loss was 5.1% in the lower A1C group and 5.0% in the higher A1C group.
These results are impressive, the researchers noted, because they’re based on an online lifestyle intervention program that has lower barriers to participation than traditional lifestyle intervention programs — which tend to be much more expensive and time-intensive, using in-person meetings with nutrition experts and other health and fitness professionals. The next logical step, the researchers noted, would involve seeing if the WW program could lead to even greater improvement in A1C by pairing it with another intervention — such as a medication — and using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) to look at glucose patterns in greater detail.
Want to learn more about weight management? Read “Tried and True Weight-Loss Techniques,” “Losing Weight Without Feeling Hungry,” and “Seven Ways to Lose Weight.”
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