Research
Energy balance
Moderate weight loss markedly reduces the development of type 2 diabetes in individuals with impaired glucose tolerance, independent of glycemic index/load.
If you are at risk for type 2 diabetes (impaired glucose tolerance), focus on achieving moderate weight loss. This is the single most effective step you can take to prevent the disease, more so than focusing solely on glycemic index or load.
StrongSupportsVERY_HIGH confidence
The findings of the Diabetes Prevention Program, conducted in the U.S., and the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study clearly demonstrate that moderate weight loss markedly reduces the development of type 2 diabetes in individuals with impaired glucose tolerance.
Why this rating
Based on large-scale prospective studies (DPP, Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study).
Source
Dietary Carbohydrate (Amount and Type) in the Prevention and Management of Diabetes
Nancy F. Sheard et al. · Diabetes Care · 2004
DOI 10.2337/diacare.27.9.2266
narrative_reviewCited 471×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Restricting total carbohydrate intake to less than 130 g/day is not recommended for the management of diabetes.Strong
- Total carbohydrate intake (grams) is the primary determinant of postprandial blood glucose response, explaining more variance than glycemic index alone.Good
- Implementing a low-glycemic index (GI) diet provides an additional benefit to blood glucose control (lowered A1C) compared to diets focusing solely on total carbohydrate amount.Good
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