Health or Love: Which Would Most People With Type 2 Diabetes Choose?

From health.yahoo.com

By Korin Miller

Key Takeaways

• A new Everyday Health survey of more than 500 adults with type 2 diabetes suggests that disease management can be life-altering.

• Most respondents would prioritize health and a better lifestyle over perks like more money.

• The findings highlight the challenges of living with type 2 diabetes, according to doctors.

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If given the option, would you choose perfect health for the rest of your life or a perfect marriage or relationship?

Among people living with type 2 diabetes, the resounding preference was perfect health (65 percent versus 35 percent) in a new Everyday Health survey of 501 people living with the disease. The survey queried patients on that question and several others to gauge their values.

Respondents also said they'd choose being the happiest person in the room (53 percent) versus the healthiest (47 percent). Meanwhile, they preferred a guaranteed cure for type 2 diabetes (69 percent) over a guaranteed college education for a child (31 percent), but 74 percent would choose being able to run around with grandkids over ordering takeout four nights per week (26 percent), and having energy to enjoy weekends (78 percent) over sleeping in every weekend (22 percent).

Patient Journey and GLP-1 Use Influenced Choices

Responses changed depending on factors such as where the respondent was in their condition journey (for example, how long they'd been diagnosed with diabetes) and whether they were taking a GLP-1 drug.

As patients get further along in their journey with type 2 diabetes, their priorities appear to shift from weight- and appearance-oriented goals toward freedom from the disease. For example, compared with patients diagnosed within the past three years, seasoned patients (those with diabetes for 10 or more years) would choose a guaranteed cure for type 2 diabetes (76 percent) over a child's college education (66 percent).

People who weren't currently using GLP-1 medications were more likely than those who were to prioritize perfect health over a perfect marriage or relationship (71 percent versus 59 percent) and to choose a guaranteed cure for type 2 diabetes over a child's college education (72 percent versus 65 percent), the results revealed.

What's more, women were significantly more likely than men to value being the healthiest person in the room over the happiest (52 percent versus 44 percent), while men were significantly more likely to prioritize happiness (56 percent versus 48 percent).

The Findings Reflect What Doctors See in People With Type 2 Diabetes

Overall, the results are not surprising, says Kimberly Gudzune, MD, MPH, obesity medicine physician and affiliate faculty at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "They highlight that people living with type 2 diabetes are looking to live healthy and happy lives, but having diabetes may make it challenging to meet these goals," she says.

Type 2 diabetes can reduce a person's life expectancy, which is why Dr. Gudzune says it "makes sense" that people living with the condition would favor a cure. "Type 2 diabetes may also impact the quality of life, so it's not just a longer lifespan, but being able to enjoy the years that you have," she says.

Jennifer Frediani, PhD, RD, agreed. "Having type 2 diabetes is life-changing," said Dr. Frediani, who is a professor at the Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and a medical reviewer at Everyday Health. "Your life revolves around what you've eaten, what your exercise plan is, and when you're taking your medications."

She says that type 2 diabetes management can be "all you think about" for some patients, especially if they're taking medications with a risk of uncomfortable side effects. "I get that people would choose a cure over something like a paid college education, which they may be able to figure out," she says.

But Frediani points out that there are often different levels of concern in people with type 2 diabetes, reflected by some people preferring to sleep in on weekends versus having enough energy for those days. "There are some people that are going to do their best to prevent complications and then there are others that think, 'That won't happen to me,'" she says.

Still, a large number of respondents seemed focused on trying to improve their health. "Type 2 diabetes not only reduces life expectancy but increases a person's risk of other health conditions such as heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease," Gudzune says. "The survey results seem to suggest that people are aware of these risks and are concerned about their long-term health."

What to Consider if Your Current Treatment Plan Isn't Working

The right treatment plan for type 2 diabetes is individualized to the patient and often requires a team of healthcare professionals, Gudzune says. If your current treatment plan doesn't seem to be improving your blood sugar levels or is affecting your quality of life, Gudzune recommends talking to your providers.

"People with type 2 diabetes should share their challenges and concerns with their primary care clinician and endocrinologist," she says. "In addition, many find it helpful to work with diabetes self-management education and support services, where a diabetes care and education specialist can help create a plan and teach about the key self-care behaviours such as healthy eating and reducing the risks of diabetes complications."

Frediani stresses the importance of refining treatment with time. "If you manage it well and are getting better, you may be able to go off medication," she says. "But the opposite can happen: If you don't take your medication correctly or change your lifestyle, it can get a lot worse."

Sources: Everyday Health Type 2 Diabetes/GLP-1 Patient Survey, N= 501, Aug. 5-13, 2026.

https://health.yahoo.com/conditions/endocrine/diabetes/diabetes-type-2/articles/health-love-most-people-type-085025693.html 

Early Type 2 Diabetes Is No Longer a Lifetime Sentence for Many Young Adults

From Men's Fitness

By Lakshan Weeraratne

Key Points

• A randomized trial found 54% of younger adults achieved type 2 diabetes remission after six months.
• Participants followed medically supervised calorie restriction, exercise, medication adjustments, and ongoing professional support.
• Remission is not a cure; long-term durability remains unknown, and intensive diets require clinical supervision.
• 
  

Type 2 diabetes diagnosed in your 20s, 30s, or early 40s can feel like a lifetime sentence. A new randomized trial suggests that, for some younger adults, the disease can be pushed below the diagnostic threshold without glucose-lowering medication in six months.

In the RESET for Remission trial, 27 of 50 people assigned to an intensive diet-and-exercise program reached type 2 diabetes remission after 24 weeks. That is 54 percent.

In the usual-care group, only two of 46 people, or 4 percent, did.

That 50-percentage-point difference deserves attention. It also comes with a large asterisk: this was not a normal calorie deficit plus a few workouts.

It was a medically managed 800-to-900-calorie diet, meal replacements, medication changes, supervised aerobic and resistance training, and regular professional support. The participants were also a carefully selected group.

What Did the Diabetes Remission Study Find?

Researchers at three centres in England and Canada randomly assigned 96 adults to either usual diabetes care or the combined lifestyle program.

Participants were 18 to 45 years old, had obesity, had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within the previous six years, and were not using insulin. Their average age was 38, and their average body mass index was 35.2.

The trial included 51 men and 45 women and a multi-ethnic group of participants.

The study was open-label, so participants knew which program they were following, but the primary outcome was assessed blind to group assignment.

Eighty-six people, or 90 percent of the sample, attended the final assessment. For the main analysis, anyone with missing outcome data was counted as not being in remission—a conservative approach that makes the 54 percent result harder, not easier, to produce.

At week 24:

• 27 of 50 people in the intervention group were in remission: 54 percent.

• Two of 46 people receiving usual care were in remission: 4 percent.

• The adjusted odds of remission were 21.6 times higher with the intervention.

The intervention group also lost an average of 8.4 kilograms, or about 18.5 pounds, compared with 1.2 kilograms, or 2.6 pounds, in the usual-care group.

After statistical adjustment, the between-group difference was 7.5 kilograms, including about 6.6 kilograms—14.6 pounds—of additional fat loss.

The researchers reported that fat-free mass was preserved while strength and cardiorespiratory fitness improved.

That part matters. Rapid weight loss can take muscle with it, and losing muscle is a poor trade for anyone trying to improve long-term metabolic health.

What Did the 24-Week Program Involve?

The result came from a two-stage clinical intervention, not a downloadable diet.

For the first 12 weeks, participants followed an 800-to-900-calorie-per-day plan. The first two weeks used total meal replacement. From weeks three through 12, participants continued the low-energy target while adding one food-based meal containing protein, fruit, and non-starchy vegetables.

The exercise component combined cardio and lifting.

According to the published trial protocol, participants completed two supervised sessions each week with aerobic and resistance work, plus one independent aerobic session.

Training progressed toward roughly 60-minute sessions. The resistance plan covered the upper and lower body, generally using one to three sets of eight to 12 repetitions. Aerobic work was prescribed from fitness-test results rather than a generic pace.

For weeks 13 through 24, food was reintroduced into an individualized weight-maintenance plan, and exercise shifted toward independent training. Participants aimed for at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per week and continued to receive check-ins and support.

There was another detail that cannot be separated from the result: clinicians stopped or adjusted glucose- and blood-pressure-lowering medication when appropriate, monitored participants, and restarted treatment if prespecified thresholds were reached.

That is medical management, not motivation.

What Does Type 2 Diabetes Remission Mean?

In this trial, remission meant an HbA1c below 6.5 percent—the diagnostic threshold for diabetes—after at least 12 weeks without glucose-lowering medication.

That matches the definition proposed in an international consensus report convened by the American Diabetes Association.

HbA1c reflects average blood glucose over roughly the previous two to three months. Getting it below 6.5 percent without glucose-lowering drugs is clinically meaningful.

It is not the same as erasing the condition.

Remission can end. Blood glucose may rise again, particularly if weight is regained or the underlying disease progresses. That is why experts use remission, not cure, and why people in remission still need ongoing glucose checks and screening for diabetes-related complications.

This trial tells us who met the remission definition at six months. It does not tell us how many will remain there one year, five years, or 10 years later.

Was the Program Safe?

No serious adverse events were reported, but the intervention was not free of side effects.

Forty-three of the 50 intervention participants reported at least one adverse event, compared with six of 46 people in the usual-care group.

The most common problems were early effects of the low-energy diet, including constipation, headache, dizziness, and fatigue. Researchers reported that these generally resolved.

Both sides of that finding matter. The trial did not uncover a serious safety signal during 24 weeks, but 86 percent of the intervention group experienced some kind of adverse event.

That is another reason the calorie target should not be copied at home.

The NHS specifically warns people with type 2 diabetes not to begin a very strict low-calorie diet without speaking to a health professional.

Eating far less while continuing certain diabetes or blood-pressure medications can cause glucose or blood pressure to fall too low. Nobody should stop medication to chase remission without the clinician who prescribed it.

What the Study Cannot Prove

The trial is promising, but it is narrow by design.

First, it involved only 96 people and lasted 24 weeks. The size of the effect is impressive; its durability remains unknown.

Second, the findings apply most directly to adults ages 18 to 45 who had obesity, were within six years of diagnosis, and did not use insulin.

They do not establish the same remission rate for older adults, people who have lived with diabetes for decades, people without obesity, or people using insulin. They do not apply to type 1 diabetes.

Third, the study compared the full diet-and-exercise package with usual care. It did not include a low-energy-diet-only group.

That means it cannot tell us how much of the remission came from calorie restriction and weight loss, how much came from exercise, or whether the two produced a unique combined effect.

The resistance training may help explain the preservation of muscle, but this trial was not designed to isolate it.

Finally, the level of support matters. Dietitians, physicians, exercise professionals, meal replacements, supervised sessions, monitoring, and medication management were part of the intervention.

Results from that system cannot be assumed for an unsupervised 800-calorie challenge.

What Should You Do With This Information?

If you have type 2 diabetes and want to pursue remission, the useful question is not, "Can I eat 800 calories tomorrow?"

It is, "Am I a candidate for a structured remission program, and who will manage it?"

Ask your doctor or diabetes-care team about:

• Whether remission is a realistic goal given your diabetes duration, medications, and overall health

• A medically supervised total-diet-replacement or intensive weight-management program available in your area

• How medication and blood glucose would be monitored during a major calorie reduction

• How resistance training can be included to help protect strength and muscle during weight loss

• What the long-term weight-maintenance and follow-up plan would be after the intensive phase

The headline result is real: 54 percent reached remission, compared with 4 percent receiving usual care.

The deeper lesson is not that an extreme diet cures diabetes. It is that an intensive, professionally managed program can change the course of early type 2 diabetes for some younger adults—and that the structure around the diet may be as important as the calorie number people will remember.

The RESET for Remission trial was funded by the UK Medical Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the John R. McConnell Foundation. This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. An 800-to-900-calorie diet and any changes to diabetes or blood-pressure medication require qualified medical supervision.

https://www.mensfitness.com/news/early-type-2-diabetes-remission-trial