Loss of only two or three kilograms reduces the risk of diabetes by almost two times

Even a slight weight loss of two to three kilograms almost halves the likelihood of type 2 diabetes in people at high risk of disease. Such results were obtained in a large-scale study, the largest in the world among others, conducted over the past 30 years on the prevention of diabetes. They have been published in an article in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

The clinical trial, in which more than a thousand people at high risk of diabetes took part, lasted more than eight years. All participants were instructed to make certain lifestyle changes regarding diet and physical activity in order to achieve weight loss.

The study found that weight loss of two to three kilograms and maintaining weight for at least two years reduced the likelihood of type 2 diabetes by 40-47% in people with a high risk of this disease. "For every 11 people who received the intervention there was one who did not have diabetes, which is a real breakthrough," said one of the study authors, Professor Max Bachmann from Norwich Medical School.

Thus, even a slight weight loss, which occurred due to the change of diet and inclusion of exercise, can be of great benefit to people at risk.

"If you are diagnosed with prediabetes, this approach offers a new direction in your life - to get off the path to diabetes and embark on a healthy future," commented Professor Colin Grieves of the University of Birmingham, one of the authors of the intervention program.