Research

Energy balance

Intensive lifestyle interventions focused on weight loss do not reduce cardiovascular morbidity or all-cause mortality in adults with type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity.

If you have type 2 diabetes and are overweight, focusing intensely on losing weight through strict diet and exercise may not protect your heart or extend your life as much as previously thought. Prioritize sustainable health behaviors and mental well-being over the scale number, as the medical evidence for mortality benefits from weight loss in this specific group is lacking.

WeakRefutesHIGH confidence
Look AHEAD... did not reduce the rate of cardiovascular events in adults with type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity... A follow-up study found that the lifestyle intervention also did not significantly reduce mortality risk.
Katherine M. Flegal · The AMA Journal of Ethic · 2023

Why this rating

Based on large-scale randomized controlled trials (Look AHEAD, ADAPT) with long-term follow-up.

Source

Use and Misuse of BMI Categories

Katherine M. Flegal · The AMA Journal of Ethic · 2023

DOI 10.1001/amajethics.2023.550

narrative_reviewCited 46×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →