Research
Energy balance
Obesity is a root cause of type 2 diabetes, and weight loss reduces the risk of microvascular complications (retinopathy, nephropathy) and improves renal function.
Keeping your weight down is one of the most important things you can do to protect your eyes and kidneys from diabetes-related damage. Even modest weight loss can significantly lower your risk of these serious complications. This is because excess fat contributes to inflammation and stress on these organs.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Obesity is a root cause of type 2 diabetes mellitus... Conversely, a BMI loss of > 1% was associated with a 38% decrease in the incidence of microvascular complications compared to individuals with a stable weight.
Why this rating
Supported by large observational studies (EPIC-Potsdam, SOS) and RCTs.
Source
Treat Obesity to Treat Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Cem Sulu et al. · Diabetes Therapy · 2024
DOI 10.1007/s13300-024-01536-3
narrative_reviewCited 13×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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Related findings · Energy balance
- Achieving a total body weight loss of 10-15% (or >10-15 kg) through Total Diet Replacement (TDR) induces remission of Type 2 Diabetes in individuals with short-duration disease.Strong
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