After 11 years, a large study of Type 2 diabetics ended early because the "researchers concluded it was futile to continue" in the face of overwhelming evidence that rigorous weight loss did not reduce heart disease at all.

And when I say rigorous, I mean that the participants were expected to conform to a regime of between 1200 - 1800 calories a day and at least 175 minutes a week of exercise. Despite all this effort, the dieters only lose an average of 5% of their body weight... which, given that many of them were over 250 lb, might mean something like 12.5 lb.

Relatively cheap drugs might turn out to be just as effective at reducing cardiovascular risk than trying to push the rock up the mountain of making Americans lose weight.

I'm curious if they accounted for breakage. It seems odd to me that ppl can't lose more than 12lbs on a 1200-1800 cal diet. There's got to be cheating

Then again this could just be further confirmation that obesity is a chemistry problem more than a physics one.

What you're saying makes sense, Jason.

Doesn't look like they accounted for breakage.

What's "breakage" in this context?

Here's a follow-up piece which makes it sound like the participants actually did comply to the extent that they were realistically able to.

http://www.salon.com/2012/10/25/why_the_war_on_fat_is_a_scam_to_peddle_drugs/

They just couldn't make people lose significant weight even on this regime. Yet more evidence that no one has come up with a safe method to make large numbers of already-diabetic Americans permanently lose a lot of weight.

I'm defining breakage as people who cheat on their prescribed diets. I know a little something about obese diabetics, since I am one: we're addicts, and we behave like addicts. Lie. Cheat. Steal to get our fix.

This is particularly true when confronted with a traditional, conventional calorie constricted and low fat diet.

The only type of diet which has EVER worked for me, and the only type I have EVER been able to stick to for more than a few days, is the low-carb/low-glycemic, currently called Paleo, diet.

Also, in the 2 months since my diagnosis of Diabetes, I have already reverted both my fasting glucose and my triglycerides to normal range... simply by avoiding carbs. And I don't crave cookies anymore :-)

Jason, congrats on your avoiding carbs!

Does it take the whole 2 months to lose the cravings?

Gratz, Jason! Do you mind if I ask: did you actually lose a significant amount of weight (> 5%) while your glucose and triglycerides came down?

for me the cravings went away almost immediately, within a few days... except the chocolate craving.... but i've always preferred the 90%+ choco bars... not enough room in those things for sugar ;-)

I've lost 4% of my weight, but that's come out to roughly 2 lbs / wk...