March 29, 2019

search news

ARTS & CULTURE CAMPUS LIFE HEALTH & SCIENCE IN THE WORLD MORE

New Insight into Losing Weight

Blood sugars may be key to optimizing weight loss approaches

By Erin Lewis
August 10, 2017

What if a simple blood test could help you determine the best strategy for weight loss, before you even
started? Additional analysis of a study conducted by researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human
Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts suggests that a person’s fasting glucose levels,
also called blood sugar levels, may be useful in figuring out the best type of diet for weight loss. The
study focused on a weight-loss program based on the “iDiet,” which emphasizes a high-fiber, low-
glycemic diet and includes behavioral support. reddit

Tufts researchers, in collaboration with scientists from

Gelesis, a biotechnology company, found that at the end
Print Email
of the six-month program, overweight and obese people
with high fasting blood sugar levels lost more weight (an
average of 9.4 percent of body weight) than those with
low fasting blood sugar levels (4.1 percent body weight).

Senior author Sai Krupa Das, a scientist in the Energy

Metabolism Laboratory at the HNRCA, explained that

Create PDF in your applications with the Pdfcrowd HTML to PDF API PDFCROWD
 high fasting blood sugar levels are a sign of poor glucose “It might be time to consider glycemic status
when advising patients on the best strategy for
control, making people susceptible to blood glucose
weight loss,” said Susan B. Roberts. Oatmeal is
spikes when they eat, leading to hunger and overeating. A an example of a food for those on low-glycemic
low-glycemic diet is designed to minimize those spikes. index diets. Photo: Ingimage
“Fasting blood sugar is easily measured, and our findings
suggest that it could serve as a useful measure in advising
some patients on the type of diet that is most beneficial for their weight loss,” Das said.

Most guidelines for weight control recommend that people with obesity lose 5-10 percent of their body weight to improve health. After six
months, a greater proportion of subjects with high fasting blood sugar lost this recommended amount of weight, compared to those with low
fasting blood sugar.

Almost 80 percent of subjects with high fasting blood sugar levels lost 5 percent of their body weight, compared to only 50 percent of subjects
with low fasting blood sugar levels. In addition, 36 percent in the high group, vs. 8 percent in the low group, lost 10 percent of their body
weight.

“The difference in response among those with high fasting blood sugar and lower fasting blood sugar is important. It might be time to consider
glycemic status when advising patients on the best strategy for weight loss,” said study author Susan B. Roberts, senior scientist and director of
the Energy Metabolism Laboratory at the HNRCA.

The analysis was published as a poster (with first author Lorien Urban, F09) at the American Diabetes Association’s 77th Scientific Sessions, so
the data and conclusions should be considered preliminary until they have been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

If You Like This

Share Your Weight Loss Secrets
December 14, 2018

A Carb-Ranking Controversy
January 5, 2018

Getting Wiser About Being Older

October 23, 2017

Create PDF in your applications with the Pdfcrowd HTML to PDF API PDFCROWD
 FEATURED EVENTS FEATURED STORY MOST RECENT STORIES

MAR From Monument to Memorial: Space, Funding for Professorships in New My Path, My Story: Claiming
Commemoration, and Representation My Identity
29 Mar 29, 9am
Department
FRI March 29, 2019
Aidekman Arts Center

A Love Letter to the

MAR Office Hours with President Monaco
Mar 29, 3pm
Classroom
29 Ballou Hall March 29, 2019
FRI

APR 4th MGIMO-Fletcher Conference on Russia- Funding for Professorships

U.S. Relations in New Department
1 Apr 1 March 27, 2019
MON

All Events A $1.5 million Mellon Foundation grant will

support faculty and advance the study of race,
colonialism, and diaspora

CONNECT WITH TUFTS

Tufts on Twitter

Tufts on Facebook

Subscribe via Email

Subscribe via RSS

Copyright © 2019 Tufts University | Contact Us | About Tufts Now | Privacy Tufts Now, 80 George St., Medford, Massachusetts 02155

Create PDF in your applications with the Pdfcrowd HTML to PDF API PDFCROWD
Create PDF in your applications with the Pdfcrowd HTML to PDF API PDFCROWD