“Can you reverse diabetes?”
My 16-year-old daughter was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. She is also 40 pounds overweight according to her doctor. Can you reverse diabetes?
6 Answers
Yes, if you lose the extra weight. Diabetic patients with morbid obesity who get bariatric surgery, they lose lots of weight and cure their diabetes.
Ali A. Achira, MD
Ali A. Achira, MD
Yes, if she loses weight, is eating healthy and doing physical activity, she can reverse her high blood sugars and control her diabetes.
The answer to this question is YES & NO. Diabetes Type 1 & Type 2 are inherited diseases and we cannot change our genetics. Maybe some day, but not now. So diabetes never goes away. But there is hope. Not only is diabetes inherited but there are also environmental factors that enhance the genetic makeup. In Type2 diabetes the main environmental factor is insulin resistance due to obesity. Thus diet, exercise & wt. loss may make it seem like you have reversed the diabetes. You have not really. What you have done is reduce the insulin resistance & relieve the stress on the beta cells so they can do their job. If she regains the wt. though the diabetes will return in force. So it is important that she understands this & never quits her program.
Yes, you can with adequate supervision under an endocrinologist. This holds true in Type 2 diabetes as patients achieved remission with about 30lb weight loss.
There is a good possibility that she can control type 2 diabetes with adherence to a balanced deficit low calorie diet and daily aerobic exercise
for 30 minutes. Your physician can probably provide her with a diet.
for 30 minutes. Your physician can probably provide her with a diet.
At this age if it is confirmed type II DM there is a chance to put her off medications by losing weight with lifestyle modification (diet and exercise)
