At least 4 to 5 percent weight loss needed to cut diabetes risk

(HealthDay)—For Japanese men with visceral fat accumulation and hemoglobin A1C (A1C) of 5.6 to 6.4 percent, minimization of the risk of diabetes requires a minimum of 4 to 5 percent weight loss, according to a study published online Feb. 13 in the Journal of Diabetes Investigation.

Hiromi Iwahashi, M.D., from Osaka University in Japan, and colleagues quantified the amount of weight reduction necessary for minimization of diabetes risk. Participants included 482 Japanese men with estimated visceral fat area of >100 cm²; A1C of 5.6 to 6.4 percent; fasting plasma glucose of <126 mg/dL; or casual plasma glucose of <200 mg/dL. Patients were classified according to weight change (weight loss or weight gain) at the end of a three-year follow-up period.

The researchers found that the cumulative incidence of diabetes was 16.2 and 10.1 percent in the weight-gain and weight-loss groups, respectively, at the end of three years (P not significant). Compared with the weight-gain group, the incidence of diabetes was significantly lower in the highest quartile weight-loss group (≥4.3 percent weight loss; 3.1 percent), but not in the second highest, second lowest, or lowest weight-loss groups (9.7, 10.1, and 18.3 percent, respectively).

"Minimization of the risk of diabetes in Japanese men with visceral fat accumulation requires a minimum of 4 to 5 percent weight loss in those with A1C of 5.6 to 6.4 percent," the authors write.

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