The Link Between Weight Management and Diabetes Management
Takeaways:
Obesity increases a person’s risk for developing type 2 diabetes, but not every single person with obesity develops diabetes
It’s possible to achieve long-term remission of diabetes with weight loss.
Extreme weight loss methods like crash dieting are not recommended; a sustainable healthy lifestyle plan is best
For people with type 2 diabetes, it’s essential to achieve good blood sugar control in order to prevent serious long-term complications. This involves monitoring your blood sugar (using a traditional fingerstick glucometer or a continuous glucose monitor). Oral medications and/or insulin may also be used.
There’s also another important component to diabetes management. Achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight can also make a significant difference in a person’s blood sugar levels. In fact, in some cases, it can even bring a person’s average blood sugar levels into the normal range. This is why weight management is an essential component of diabetes management.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a condition in which a person’s blood sugar levels frequently rise too high. It’s related to changes in the action of insulin, which is a hormone produced by the pancreas. Insulin normally helps to control blood sugar, by stimulating the body’s cells to take up sugar from the blood and either use or store the energy from that sugar.
There are two main types of diabetes. In people with type 1 diabetes, the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin. In people with type 2 diabetes, the body’s cells don’t respond normally to insulin. Body weight has a significant impact on a person’s risk of type 2 diabetes.
The link between diabetes and obesity
It’s well-established that obesity increases a person’s risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Researchers are still working to understand exactly how this occurs, but the current understanding is that excess fat tissue leads to a variety of metabolic changes in the body, including:
Increased production of pro-inflammatory substances, leading to chronic inflammation throughout the body.
Higher levels of fat in the blood.
Changes in hormonal balance, because fat tissue produces hormones like estrogen.
All of these can lead to the development of insulin resistance, meaning that your cells don’t respond normally to insulin. As insulin resistance becomes more severe, you can develop prediabetes or type 2 diabetes.
Does everyone with obesity develop diabetes?
Obesity greatly increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, but not every single person with obesity develops diabetes. Approximately 80 to 90% of people who are obese have type 2 diabetes, meaning that there are still some people who are significantly overweight but don’t have diabetes.
It’s not known why some people with obesity seem to be protected from developing diabetes. It’s believed that genetic differences may play a role in determining how fat cells process both sugar and fat in the blood.
Is weight management related to diabetes management?
If you have diabetes and are overweight or obese, then losing weight can make a significant difference in your blood sugar control. In fact, people with diabetes who lose excess weight can sometimes bring their diabetes into remission. This means that they have average blood sugar levels in the normal range, without the use of diabetes medications.
Doctors are generally hesitant to say that losing weight can “cure” diabetes, because it’s considered to be a chronic medical condition. However, it’s definitely possible to achieve long-term remission of diabetes with weight loss.
Even a modest amount of weight loss can have a significant impact. People who lose even 5% of their total body weight can see a substantial improvement in blood sugar control, and often need less medication to achieve healthy blood sugar levels. For a person who weighs 90kg, this is equivalent to losing just 4.5kg.
It’s important to sustain the weight loss – if you gain the weight back, then you’ll most likely see your blood sugar levels rising again. This is why extreme weight loss methods like crash dieting are not recommended. Instead, a sustainable healthy lifestyle plan is best.
Start with small steps
When considering a weight loss journey, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed. However, you don’t have to lose all of the excess weight at once. In fact, slower weight loss is generally better, because it’s more sustainable.
If you take just one small step at a time, you’ll be able to build a healthy lifestyle that you enjoy and can maintain. For example, if you normally drink soda at lunch, you could switch this out for water or unsweetened tea. After a few days, you could also start taking a ten-minute walk after lunch. When you make just one small change at a time, it’s easier to build up healthy habits.
Many people find that it’s helpful to have support through this process. A dietitian can help you to plan a healthy diet, and a health coach can help you find ways to build healthy habits.
Our NOVI Magnum program is a comprehensive program that is designed to give you the support that you need to help you reach your health goals. It aims to help you take control of diabetes before it controls you through expert guidance, personalized approach, and ongoing support.
Alternatively, we have a medical weight loss program, NOVI Optimum Plus, which offers modern medication with medically backed health coaching for sustainable and meaningful weight loss.
Patients have been found to lose 15% of body weight in over 68 weeks*
*Results based on clinical trials. Individual outcomes may vary.