Research
Energy balance
Self-reported physical activity is the strongest correlate of weight loss in intensive lifestyle interventions for type 2 diabetes, accounting for 16.1% of the variance in weight loss outcomes.
Prioritize physical activity in your weight loss strategy. Aim for 175 minutes of brisk walking per week, gradually increasing your activity. This is the strongest predictor of successful weight loss in people with type 2 diabetes.
StrongSupportsVERY_HIGH confidence
Greater self-reported physical activity was the strongest correlate of weight loss, followed by treatment attendance and consumption of meal replacements.
Why this rating
Large RCT with robust statistical analysis.
Source
One‐year Weight Losses in the Look AHEAD Study: Factors Associated With Success
Thomas A. Wadden et al. · Obesity · 2009
DOI 10.1038/oby.2008.637
rct · n=5145Cited 528×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- High adherence to an intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) comprising diet, physical activity, and behavioral counseling produces clinically significant weight loss (mean 8.6%) in adults with type 2 diabetes, with self-reported physical activity being the strongest correlate of success.Strong
- Orlistat provides only marginal additional weight loss when used as a 'toolbox' option for participants who have lost less than 5% of their initial weight after 6 months of intensive lifestyle intervention.Good
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