Research

Energy balance

Moderate caloric restriction (approx. 3% body weight loss) significantly improves insulin sensitivity (measured by HOMA-IR, QUICKI, and Matsuda index) in middle-aged obese pre-menopausal women, despite not improving early-phase beta-cell function.

For obese women, aiming for a modest 3% body weight loss through a moderate caloric deficit (around 1,200 kcal/day) for 12 weeks can significantly improve insulin sensitivity. This metabolic benefit occurs even if early-stage beta-cell function doesn't improve, suggesting that moderate lifestyle changes are effective for preventing type 2 diabetes in this demographic.

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After calorie restriction... insulin sensitivity (HOMA-IR, QUICKI and Matsuda index) measured by OGTT improved significantly (P < 0.01)... moderate weight loss due to caloric restriction with reduction in insulin resistance improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in middle-aged obese women
Hye-Ok Lee et al. · Nutrition Research and Practice · 2014

Why this rating

Randomized controlled trial design with a specific population, though sample size is moderate (n=57) and duration is short (12 weeks).

Source

Moderate diet-induced weight loss is associated with improved insulin sensitivity in middle-aged healthy obese Korean women

Hye-Ok Lee et al. · Nutrition Research and Practice · 2014

DOI 10.4162/nrp.2014.8.4.469

clinical_trial · n=57Cited 16×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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