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In overweight or obese patients with type 2 diabetes, each kilogram of weight loss achieved through non-surgical interventions (diet or pharmacotherapy) results in a mean reduction of 0.1 percentage points in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c).

For every kilogram (2.2 lbs) of body weight you lose, your HbA1c is expected to drop by 0.1 percentage points. This applies to overweight or obese adults with Type 2 Diabetes using diet or non-surgical drugs. The benefit is linear: more weight loss equals more HbA1c reduction. This holds true regardless of whether you use low-carb, low-fat, or pharmacological weight loss strategies, as long as weight is lost. Note: This model applies to non-surgical interventions over 3-24 months.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
The model developed in the present study estimates that for each kg of mean weight loss, there is a mean HbA1c reduction of 0.1 percentage points.
Anders Gummesson et al. · Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism · 2017

Why this rating

Based on a systematic review of 58 eligible articles, 124 treatment groups, and 17,204 subjects, providing a robust meta-analytic model.

Source

Effect of weight reduction on glycated haemoglobin in weight loss trials in patients with type 2 diabetes

Anders Gummesson et al. · Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism · 2017

DOI 10.1111/dom.12971

Meta-analysis · 58 studiesCited 169×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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