Dietary Considerations for Obese Diabetic Subjects Free

Individuals with an upper-body form of obesity show greater associations with higher glucose excursions, exacerbated insulin resistance, increased abnormality of lipoprotein profile, and higher cardiovascular risk. Individuals with obesity and diabetes are at great risk for cardiovascular disease. Weight reduction and improvement in blood glucose control through dietary interventions for the obese person with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) hold the greatest potential for reducing morbidity and mortality. The relative merits of different weightreduction programs are unclear, but regimens should be nutritionally complete, easy to follow, and include a program for maintaining the reduced weight level. Improvement in insulin action and the possibility of slowing development of clinical nephropathy or endstage renal disease in NIDDM through weight loss have been found. Very low calorie diets, when used with medical supervision, may lead to significant weight loss, improved metabolic status, and even reduction or elimination of the need for oral hypoglycemic agents or insulin; however, further studies are needed to examine possible negative outcomes in people with NIDDM before very low calorie diets can be recommended. The causes of obesity and its connection with diabetes are unclear, but even modest calorie restriction may be beneficial to obese diabetic patients because of the positive effects on blood glucose levels and requirements for insulin and oral antidiabetic agents.