charon said:
Although promising that Newcastle study only included 11 carefully chosen subjects all with a BMI around 33 (so considered obese).
I guess in that situation losing a lot of weight quickly would be good anyway and might well correct the situation depending on the cause - is the speed of weight loss relevant?
On the plus side it showed positive results for all those that completed the study with a 15% weight loss.
A concern is the statement that 50% of those diagnosed need insulin within 10 years.
Be nice to have a wider test with more varied subjects - but seems like a good idea to try anyway. Benefits were shown in a week so...
Anyway - well done.
I agree. Whilst I hope that people on the diet do benefit from it, I noted the last two paragraphs from the follow-up report which I have itemised as they didn't stand out (for me anyway)... I find point (5), in particular, surprising for a clinical study. I'm also intrigued as to why the study was conducted by the Magnetic Resonance Centre at Newcastle, rather than, say, Loughborough's Sports Sciences people (no bias except that my son went there)
However, the limitations inherent to this study design must be acknowledged.
1. Firstly, there will have been self-referral bias, with the observations demonstrating proof of principle rather than any
estimate of likely reversal rates.
2. The precision of the diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes is uncertain.
3. The inclusion of individuals with maturity-onset diabetes of youth or slow-onset Type 1 diabetes would result in an
underestimation of rates of diabetes reversal using a very low energy diet.
4. The signicant degree of heterogeneity in the intervention must also be acknowledged, including the degree of energy
restriction (particularly in those who did not use a meal replacement product) and the length of diet period undertaken.
5. Finally, diabetes reversal was mostly based on self-reported, unverified measurements of glycaemic control in the form of
capillary blood glucose results, fasting plasma glucose results, HbA1c or oral glucose tolerance tests.
These data demonstrate that intentional weight loss achieved at home by health-motivated individuals can reverse Type 2 diabetes.
• Diabetes reversal should be a goal in the management of Type 2 diabetes in these individuals.
• The durability of the effect on glucose metabolism requires further study.
• Long-term avoidance of weight gain must be the top priority after reversal of diabetes, and the dietary regimen best able to
achieve this must now be established.