A recent study published in Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) by Dr. John Dixon and colleagues, showed that 73% of obese Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) patients that underwent weight loss surgery had complete remission. This is compared to 13% of similar patients that used the standard therapy for Type 2 DM of diet, exercise, and diabetes medications like insulin and metformin. Sixty patients were involved in this study and all were diagnosed with mild DM within the last 2 years.
One third of American are obese; 19 million Americans have Type 2 DM; another 54 million Americans have “pre-diabetes”, and have blood sugar levels that put them at risk for acquiring DM. African Americans and Hispanic Americans are disproportionately more affected by DM and suffer more complications from Diabetes than Caucasians. DM is the fifth leading cause of death in America. The weight loss surgery conducted in this study was gastric banding, which entails placing a band around the top of the stomach to cinch it to a small pouch so people feel full and eat less. It is used in about 25% to 30% of all weight loss surgeries and is less expensive than other gastric surgeries. The average cost of the banning surgery is about $17,000 to $20,000, and is covered by Medicaid but a lot of private insurance companies do not cover the surgery.
What does this say to me: Obese people with early onset Type 2 DM that have significant weight reduction can have remission from Diabetes. This study supports the argument for surgical intervention but also validates the fact that significant weight loss is the key to the cure of DM which can be reached with effective life style changes.
Take a look at the abstract for yourself:
Yours in Good Health
