A recent study suggests that type 2 diabetes patients can reduce their likelihood of suffering from heart failure if they lose body fat, especially around their waist.
The above finding is the result of a study by UT Southwestern researchers and is now available in the Circulation journal. The findings suggest that not all types of weight loss will yield the same results as far as reducing heart disease risks. In other words, people have to focus on losing specific weight if they wish to reduce their chances of suffering from the disease.
Diabetes is rapidly becoming one of the most common illnesses in the world and researchers estimate that more people will continue to suffer from the disease. Current estimates suggest that more than 700 million people will suffer from diabetes by 2045 and most of them will be type 2 diabetics. The data is important as far as heart failure is concerned because type 2 diabetes increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases by a factor of 2.
Obesity is a major risk factor for heart disease and diabetes, which is why doctors recommend that patients should lose weight to reduce the chances of suffering from either of the two conditions. However, recent research shows that losing weight from specific areas of the body will yield the desired results. Researchers conducted a study called Look AHEAD Trial, in which they monitored over 5,000 obese adults for about a year. The researchers found that 257 trial participants suffered from heart failure during the follow-up period.
The researchers discovered that study participants lowered their risk of heart failure by reducing their waist line and lowering their fat mass. A fat mass reduction of 10 percent lowers heart failure risk by as much as 22 percent. The key takeaway from the study is that people especially obese individuals should try and lose weight around their waistline if they wish to enjoy a lower risk of suffering from heart failure.
Scientists want to conduct more studies on the subject to determine the most effective heart failure risk reduction approach between losing fat, maintaining it, or building muscle. The findings are vital especially for diabetes patients because it allows them to live a healthier lifestyle.
