Research
Energy balance
Modest weight loss (5%) in Type 2 Diabetes improves cardiovascular risk factors (lipids, glucose) but does not necessarily reduce cardiovascular mortality or events.
Losing 5% of your body weight if you have Type 2 Diabetes will likely improve your blood sugar and cholesterol numbers. However, this modest weight loss may not be enough to prevent heart attacks or strokes. More significant weight loss or other interventions might be needed for hard heart outcomes.
GoodQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
While the SCOUT trial found that modest weight loss could improve 5-year CV mortality rates among diabetic patients, the Look AHEAD trial did not find that weight loss had any effect on CV mortality, MI, stroke, or angina hospitalization after 9.6 years of follow-up.
Why this rating
Based on SCOUT and Look AHEAD trials, showing conflicting results.
Source
Diabetes and cardiovascular disease: Epidemiology, biological mechanisms, treatment recommendations and future research
Benjamin M Leon · World Journal of Diabetes · 2015
DOI 10.4239/wjd.v6.i13.1246
narrative_reviewCited 1,237×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Intensive glycemic control (targeting HbA1c ≤ 6.5%) does not significantly reduce cardiovascular events or all-cause mortality in patients with Type 2 Diabetes compared to standard control, and may increase mortality risk.Strong
- Intensive glycemic control (targeting HbA1c ≤ 7%) significantly reduces cardiovascular events and microvascular complications in patients with Type 1 Diabetes.Strong
- Statins significantly reduce cardiovascular events, all-cause mortality, and stroke in patients with Type 2 Diabetes, regardless of baseline cholesterol levels.Strong
Related findings · Energy balance
- Achieving a total body weight loss of 10-15% (or >10-15 kg) through Total Diet Replacement (TDR) induces remission of Type 2 Diabetes in individuals with short-duration disease.Strong
- Bariatric surgery is superior to medical management alone for inducing significant long-term weight loss, remission of type 2 diabetes, and reduction in mortality for patients with BMI ≥ 40 or ≥ 35 with comorbidities.Strong
- Achieving type 2 diabetes remission requires significant weight loss (≥15 kg) via major caloric restriction, independent of macronutrient composition.Strong
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