Weight-loss strategies for diabetes control
About eight of every 10 people with diabetes are overweight or obese. But experts have only recently begun to understand why excess weight increases the risk of diabetes. They now believe that fat cells—especially those in the belly, where people tend to carry extra pounds—secrete hormones and other chemical signals.
Some of these substances trigger inflammation, which interferes with insulin receptors on cells, leading to insulin resistance and eventually diabetes. The good news is that losing as little as 5% to 10% of your body weight can help manage diabetes. There is also some tentative evidence that certain types of foods may help you both control your weight and prevent the onset of diabetes.
Healthy eating guidelines
The relationship between eating specific types of foods and diabetes risk remains a topic of some debate, as the research is limited and the results somewhat controversial. The following summaries all come from studies that required people to report what they ate or drank. Such studies are considered less rigorous than those in which people are assigned to follow different diets.
But overall, the findings from the participants’ self-reports are consistent with whatexperts consider healthy or unhealthy eating habits for most adults. What’s more, all of the food and drink (with the exception of alcohol) linked to a lower risk of diabetes have also been associated with weight loss, whereas those linked to a higher risk for diabetes also promote weight gain.
Foods and drinks linked to a lower risk of developing diabetes:
- Fiber. Men and women who ate lots of whole grains had a roughly 40% lower risk of diabetes than those who ate scarce amounts. Fiber from cereals, breads, and grains seemed to be the most beneficial.
- Coffee. One cup of coffee—decaf or regular—a day lowered diabetes risk by 13%, and two to three cups a day cut the risk by 42%, compared with no coffee intake at all.
- Moderate alcohol. Compared with men who abstained from alcohol, men who had two to four drinks per week had a 26% lower risk of diabetes. Five to six drinks per week dropped the risk even more, by 33%, while one or more drinks a day cut risk by 43%.
- Nuts. Women who ate nuts or peanut butter at least five times a week had a risk of diabetes 20% to 30% lower than those who rarely ate nuts.
Foods and drinks linked to a higher risk of diabetes:
- Sugary drinks. Women who drank two or more sugar-sweetened soft drinks per day had a 24% higher risk of developing diabetes compared with women who sipped less than one per month. Two or more daily fruit drinks (which contain little, if any, real fruit juice) carried a 31% higher risk.
- Meat. Women who ate the most red meat (about a serving per day) had about a 20% higher risk of diabetes than those who ate the least (about one serving a week). And men who ate processed meats like hot dogs, bacon, and lunch meats five times a week were nearly twice as likely to develop diabetes as men who ate such foods just twice a month.
- Trans fats. Commonly found in margarine, deep-fried foods, and commercial baked goods, trans fats have been linked to a higher risk of diabetes as well as heart disease. One study documented a 30% greater risk of diabetes among women who ate the most trans fats compared with those who ate the least.
Concentrate on how much you eat
Contrary to popular belief, there’s no specific type of weight-loss diet—such as low-fat or lowcarb— that’s best for people with diabetes. Rather than focusing too much on what you eat, concentrate more on how much you eat. To get a better handle on curbing your portion sizes, see “Quick tips for portion control,” below.
Quick tips for portion control
- 1 thumb tip = 1 teaspoon of peanut butter, butter, or sugar
- 1 finger = 1 oz. of cheese
- 1 fist = 1 cup cereal, pasta, vegetables
- 1 handful = 1 oz. of nuts
- 1 palm = 3 oz. of meat, fish, or poultry
- 2 handfuls = 2 oz. of pretzels
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