An intervention to reduce excess body weight in adults with or at risk for type 2 diabetes

Overweight and obesity increase risk for type 2 diabetes, which, in turn, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD); therefore, effective interventions to control body weight have the potential to prevent many cases of diabetes and CVD in the United States. However, few randomized controlled trials have shown that behavioral interventions can control body weight in persons with diabetes or at risk for diabetes. Therefore, the authors conducted a clinic-based randomized controlled trial, testing whether a comprehensive behavioral intervention could reduce weight, total cholesterol, and blood pressure (BP) in persons with two or more risk factors for diabetes and/or CVD. Approximately 50% of the participants had diabetes at baseline. Intervention participants had significantly greater reductions in weight and systolic BP than control participants, who received usual care. Among participants with nonelevated baseline values of total cholesterol and diastolic BP, intervention participants also had significantly greater reductions in these risk factors.