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A woman tests her blood sugar level as part of her management of diabetes. Modest weight loss won't lower the risk for a heart attack or stroke in people with diabetes, according to a new study.(Photo: David Proeber, AP)

People with type 2 diabetes often are encouraged to lose weight to improve their health, but a puzzling new study may have some questioning that advice.

A recent study showed that obese people with diabetes who lost a modest amount of weight didn't lower their risk of having a heart attack or stroke, but the weight loss did help improve many other health factors.

"While we did not show a benefit of modest weight loss for cardiovascular events, we did show the benefits of weight loss for improving depression, quality of life, sleep apnea, incontinence, fitness, physical function and blood sugar control," says Rena Wing, a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University and chairman of the Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) study. The research was financed by the National Institutes of Health.

In diabetes - a disease spotlighted in November during American Diabetes Month - the body does not make enough of the hormone insulin, or it doesn't use it properly. Insulin helps glucose (sugar) get into cells, where it is used for energy. If there's an insulin problem, sugar builds up in the blood, damaging nerves and blood vessels. There are two major forms: type 1 and type 2, which accounts for 90% to 95% of diabetes.

Diabetes can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, foot and leg amputations and blindness. Almost 26 million children and adults (8.3% of the population) in the United States have diabetes.

For the study, researchers at 16 centers around the country worked with 5,145 obese people with type 2 diabetes. Their average starting weight was about 200 pounds. The study was designed to see whether weight loss reduced the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Half of the participants were assigned to an intensive diet and exercise program. They attended individual and group meetings where they were taught strategies for weight loss by cutting calories and increasing physical activity. They used some meal replacements during the weight-loss and maintenance phases of the program.

The other half received a general program of diabetes education several times a year. All participants continued to follow the medical advice of their physician.

Findings: Those in the diet group lost about 8% of their starting weight (about 16 pounds) in the first year and maintained nearly 5% (about 10 pounds) of that loss. Participants in the diabetes education group lost about 1% (2 pounds) of their starting weight and kept it off. Everyone was tracked for up to 11 years.

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Diabetes: Effect of weight loss thrown into question

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