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Replacing diet beverages with water increases weight loss in type 2 diabetes
Women with obesity and type 2 diabetes who drank water after their main meal lost more weight than women who consumed diet beverages during a weight loss program, data from a randomized clinical trial show.
“A previous review indicated that diet beverages might be the ideal use of intense sweeteners in the setting of a weight control plan, because they have been shown to be associated with some modest weight loss,” Ameneh Madjd, PharmD, of the School of Life Sciences at Queen’s Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, U.K., and colleagues wrote. “Nevertheless, intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and diet beverages has been associated with a significantly higher risk of type 2 diabetes, and a subsequent observational study revealed that consumption of diet beverages was significantly associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. More experimental study is needed to determine the effect of consumption of diet beverages on the management of diabetes and metabolic syndrome.”
Researchers randomly assigned 81 women with obesity and type 2 diabetes who reported regularly consuming diet beverages to substitute water or continue drinking diet beverages after lunch five times per week during a 24-week weight-loss program. Participants were aged 18 to 50 years and had a BMI between 27 kg/m2 and 35 kg/m2 and an HbA1c between 6.5% and 7.2%. Researchers took blood samples after an overnight fast at baseline and again at 12 and 24 weeks.
Waist circumference and BMI decreased significantly in both groups (P < .001 for both), Madjd and colleagues reported. However, the water group lost more weight than the diet-beverage group (-6.40 kg vs. -5.25; P = .006) and saw a greater mean BMI decrease (-2.49 kg/m2 vs. -2.06; P = .006). The water group also had a greater decrease in fasting plasma glucose (-1.63 mmol/L vs. -1.29; P = .005), fasting insulin (-5.71 m IU/mL vs. -4.16 m IU/mL; P = .011), 2-hour postprandial glucose (-1.67 mmol/L vs. -1.35 mmol/L; P = .027) and homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) insulin resistance (-3.20 vs. -2.48; P = .003) compared with the diet beverage group.
“Replacing diet beverages with water consumption would appear to impact beneficially on weight loss, BMI, [fasting plasma glucose] and insulin sensitivity in overweight/obese women with type 2 diabetes who are following a weight-loss diet,” the researchers wrote. “However, longer-term studies are essential to see what would develop in an extended period in such patients.” – by Andy Polhamus
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.