Hello Everybody,
The obesity research and report industry is nearly as active as the fast weight loss industry and here we have yet another piece of research. This one is quite interesting.
In the US and UK researchers looked at whether a drug that lowers blood pressure, or a drug that lowers blood sugar, could stop the onset of type 2 diabetes in high risk patients. There were 9000 people in the trial, all of whom had ‘impaired glucose tolerance’. That means that they had high blood sugar and were heading towards type 2 diabetes, a condition particularly associated with obesity.
The results of the trial showed that there was little difference in how many people carried on to get diabetes when given either drug or when given a dummy pill.
That, no doubt, cheered up the people on the dummy pill enormously, as they had not missed out on anything. But for everybody it was bad news, as it showed that at present there is no drug based prevention of type 2 diabetes.
Professor Rury Holman, Director of the Diabetes Trials Unit at the University of Oxford, said that drug based treatments worked when someone already had diabetes. However, what was needed were drugs to stop the disease developing in the first place. At present these do not exist. The Professor said, “The most successful treatment for someone at high risk of diabetes is diet and exercise”.
Of course it would be good to have alternative methods of controlling the early stages of diabetes. Not everybody is able to exercise and drugs are needed for them. But I can see no reason why everybody cannot eat a healthy diet. For the moment diet and exercise is the answer and, where appropriate, I would have thought it should always be the answer. Why take drugs if you can avoid them and often enjoy yourself at the same time?
If you have not started already this is a really good time to begin a walking fitness program. It has taken too long, but spring is finally in the air. Buds are budding and it is a pleasure to walk in the sunshine. So go for a walk, look at your diet and cut out most sugars, animal fats , carbohydrates and alcohol and you will begin losing weight. Losing just 5% of your body weight can decrease diabetes risk dramatically. It depends on your size but most people could do this in two months quite easily.
The best thing about walking for weight loss is that you can just do it. Of course it is a lot of fun in the country, but most cities have parks and a few circuits of the park should give you the minimum 30 minutes daily exercise you need. If there is no park just walk round the block - or several blocks. You really can avoid type 2 diabetes by enjoying yourself. Try it, you will not be disappointed.
See you soon,
Peter Stockwell
18 March 2010
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