Diet to Induce Weight Loss Can Reduce BP in Type 2 Diabetes

FRIDAY, June 4, 2021 (HealthDay News) — A diet to induce weight loss reduces blood pressure (BP) among individuals with type 2 diabetes, according to a study published online May 31 in Diabetologia.

Wilma S. Leslie, Ph.D., from the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a post-hoc analysis of the changes in BP during the initial total diet replacement phase in the intervention arm of the Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (143 participants [78 on treatment for hypertension]). To achieve marked negative energy balance and rapid weight loss over 12 to 20 weeks, the Counterweight-Plus total diet replacement provided about 830 kcal.

The researchers found that from the start of total diet replacement, the overall mean BP decreased significantly and was significantly lower at week 20 and at 12 and 24 months. Of those receiving treatment for hypertension, 83 percent stopped all antihypertensive and diuretic medications as per protocol and 5 percent stopped some medications (65 and 4 participants, respectively). These participants experienced no immediate change in BP, but a significant decrease in mean BP was seen after nine weeks. No excessive increases in BP were recorded, but for 27.5 percent of the participants, antihypertensive medications were reintroduced during total diet replacement to manage elevated BP, mostly within the first three to seven weeks, despite weight loss. Twenty-eight percent of those who stopped antihypertensives remained off medications at 24 months.

“The potential to no longer need medications for blood pressure and diabetes is a big incentive for people,” Leslie said in a statement. “We hope our results will reassure health professionals that this is possible, and encourage the wider provision of diabetes remission services.”

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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