TV’s “The Biggest Loser” weight-loss program works great for overweight diabetics and prediabetics, according to an article May 30, 2012, in MedPage Today.
This isn’t directly related to the paleo diet or lifestyle, but I thought you might be interested.
Some quotes:
For example, one man with a hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) of 9.1, a body mass index (BMI) of 51, and who needed six insulin injections a day as well as other multiple prescriptions was off all medication by week 3, said Robert Huizenga, MD, the medical advisor for the TV show.
In addition, the mean percentage of weight loss of the 35 contestants in the study was 3.7% at week 1, 14.3% at week 5, and 31.9% at week 24…
The exercise regimen for those appearing on “The Biggest Loser” comprised about 4 hours of daily exercise: 1 hour of intense resistance training, 1 hour of intense aerobics, and 2 hours of moderate aerobics.
Caloric intake was at least 70% of the estimated resting daily energy expenditure, Huizenga said.
At the end of the program, participants are told to exercise for 90 minutes a day for the rest of their lives. Huizenga said he is often told by those listening to him that a daily 90-minute exercise regimen is impossible because everyone has such busy lives.
“I have a job and I work out from 90 to 100 minutes per day,” he said. “It’s about setting priorities. Time is not the issue; priorities are the issue.”
Of the 35 participants in this study, 12 had prediabetes and six had diabetes. This is a small pilot study, then. I bet the results would be reproducible on a larger scale IF all conditions of the TV program are in place. Of course, that’s not very realistic. A chance to win $250,000 (USD) is strong motivation for lifestyle change.
PS: Although not mentioned in the article, these must have been type 2 diabetics, not type 1.
Paleo Diabetic 