Targeted obesity prevention may thwart future health burden of diabetes

Issue: June 2012

The diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in approximately 220,000 patients could be avoided in Australia by 2025, according to data presented at the 19th European Congress on Obesity Meeting in Lyon, France.

“Given the costly complications associated with diabetes, reducing the burden of diabetes by even 10% is likely to have a profound influence on the health care system,” study researcher Kathryn Backholer, PhD, said.

Using a multistate life-table model designed to project the prevalence of diabetes in Australian adults between 2005 and 2025, researchers at Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia, used three strategies.

The first strategy called for a reduction of BMI across the entire population by creating a “junk food” tax. Researchers assumed a BMI decrease of about 0.5 kg/m², according to the study.

The second strategy involved a high-risk intensive lifestyle prevention strategy among those at high risk for developing diabetes, including six counseling sessions designed to decrease fat and saturated fat intake, increasing fiber and at least 4 hours of moderate physical activity per week, thus achieving more than 5% weight loss over 8 to 12 months.

The third method, designed for morbidly obese patients, included surgically induced weight loss via adjustable gastric banding to achieve a 73% remission rate of type 2 diabetes, researchers said.

Projections depicted an avoidance of 40,000 new diabetes cases in 2025 using the junk food tax strategy and 80,000 using the surgically induced strategy.

The high-risk prevention strategy yielded the best results, with a projected reduction in the prevalence of diabetes from more than 2 million patients (11.4%) to 10% of the population, they said.

For more information:

Backholer K. #116. Presented at: the 19th European Congress on Obesity Meeting; May 9-12, 2012; Lyon, France.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.