DIET AND WEIGHT LOSS NOT AS EFFECTIVE AS WE’D HOPED FOR DIABETES & OBESITY

An 11 year study has been stopped after the interim analysis showed no benefits of diet and weight loss for diabetic patients in preventing stroke and heart attacks.

This surprising result is disappointing, but it emphasizes the benefits of medication for diabetes and cholesterol, because at least these medications seem to have preventive effects.

The data for the study is not available yet, but large studies such as this are often stopped in the middle of the experiment if interim analysis fails to show benefit, or if it shows amazing results that need to be promulgated immediately.

What next?  Well….don’t stop working on diet and weight loss.  Keep with your good habits and perhaps consider more strongly the use of medications to help with your cholesterol, your blood pressure, and your blood sugar.

Read more here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/20/health/in-study-weight-loss-did-not-prevent-heart-attacks-in-diabetics.html?_r=1&ref=health