Intermittent fasting tied to T2D remission
30 May 2023
An intermittent calorie-restricted diet is effective at achieving diabetes remission for at least a year, a recent study has shown.
A team of investigators assigned participants (aged 38 to 72 years, 66.7 percent male) with a type 2 diabetes (T2D) duration of 1 to 11 years, a body mass index of 19.1 to 30.4 kg/m2, and using antidiabetic agents and/or insulin injection to either the Chinese Medical Nutrition Therapy (CMNT; accompanied by intermittent energy restriction) or a control group.
Diabetes remission, the primary outcome, was defined as a stable glycated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level of <48 mmol/mol (<6.5 percent) for a least 3 months after discontinuing all antidiabetic medications. Secondary outcomes were HbA1c level, fasting blood glucose level, blood pressure, weight, quality of life, and medication costs.
The investigators also conducted a 12-month follow-up to assess the persistence of remission.
Upon completion of the 3-month intervention plus 3-month follow-up, more participants in the CMNT group achieved diabetes remission compared with those in the control group (47.2 percent vs 2.8 percent; odds ratio, 31.32, 95 percent confidence interval, 2.39‒121.07; p<0.0001).
The mean body weight of participants decreased by 5.93 kg in the CMNT group and by just 0.27 kg in the control group. At 12 months of follow-up, 16 of the 36 participants (44.4 percent) achieved sustained remission, with an HbA1c level of 6.33 percent.
In addition, the CMNT group spent 77.22-percent less in medications costs compared with those of the control group (60.4 vs 265.1 per month).