WHIOTV.com - Study Examines Weight Loss In Diabetics

Study Examines Weight Loss In Diabetics

Boston-Area Adults Begin 12-Year Study

Updated: 10:31 a.m. EST January 25, 2002

BOSTON -- Type 2 diabetes, the adult kind, has reached epidemic levels, largely due to the high number of overweight Americans.

A new national study is under way to look at the long-term health effects of obesity on diabetics.


	Full Report DIABETES To participate in the studay, call: (866) 223-8644, click here. Additional Information What is Type 2 diabetes? Could you have diabetes? Take this test. Get nutrition guidelines Source: American Diabetes Association

John Eleftherakis knows that losing weight is important to keeping his diabetes under control. But it's not easy.

"In the past, what happens is you lose a few pounds, then you gain it right back again, lose a few pounds and gain it back again," Eleftherakis said.

But now, Eleftherakis feels he's on the right track since enrolling in a large national study looking at the long-term effects of weight loss on the course of the disease.

"We're trying to find out whether this program will decrease either the death from cardiovascular diseases or the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases," said Dr. Edward S. Horton of Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.

Diabetics are already more than twice as likely to have heart attacks and strokes. Eighty percent of them are overweight.

What isn't known is the best way for diabetics to lose weight and keep it off. The study will compare two weight-loss strategies. The first is three to four educational sessions on nutrition and exercise. The second is losing 10 percent of body weight through fewer calories, more exercise, and weekly support groups.

So far, Eleftherakis has lost 8 pounds.

"By going there every week, and learning what they're teaching me, and being a part of a group, it helps focus on what I'm supposed to do," Eleftherakis said.

Participants will be followed for 12 years.

"I feel like I'm doing great, anyway," Eleftherakis said. "I know I'm eating half the food I used to eat."

The study is being conducted locally by Massachusetts General Hospital, Joslin Diabetes Center and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. If you'd like to find out about enrolling, you can call (866) 223-8644.