Energy balance
In adults with type 2 diabetes, a 10% reduction in fat mass (FM) over one year is significantly associated with a lower risk of incident heart failure (HF), whereas changes in lean mass (LM) are not significantly associated with HF risk.
If you have type 2 diabetes, losing fat mass is a powerful way to lower your risk of heart failure. This study shows that a 10% drop in fat mass significantly reduces risk, while losing muscle mass does not have the same protective effect. Focus your lifestyle efforts on reducing fat through diet and activity, rather than worrying excessively about losing muscle during weight loss.
Decline in FM and WC, but not LM, over 1 year were each significantly associated with lower risk of overall HF (adjusted hazard ratio per 10% decrease in FM, 0.80 [95% CI, 0.68–0.95]; adjusted hazard ratio per 10% decrease in WC, 0.77 [95% CI, 0.62–0.95]).
Why this rating
Large randomized trial (Look AHEAD) with long follow-up (12.4 years) and adjudicated outcomes, though post-hoc analysis.
Source
Association of Baseline and Longitudinal Changes in Body Composition Measures With Risk of Heart Failure and Myocardial Infarction in Type 2 Diabetes
Kershaw V. Patel et al. · Circulation · 2020
DOI 10.1161/circulationaha.120.050941
More from this paper
- A reduction in waist circumference (WC) is significantly associated with a lower risk of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), but not heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).Good
- Longitudinal changes in body composition (fat mass, lean mass, or waist circumference) are not significantly associated with the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) in patients with type 2 diabetes.Good
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- Achieving type 2 diabetes remission requires significant weight loss (≥15 kg) via major caloric restriction, independent of macronutrient composition.Strong
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