Can Blood Sugar Monitoring Help with Weight Loss?
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Introduction
Managing weight is an important part of staying healthy, especially for people who are overweight or have diabetes. A new study from Japan looked into whether a device that monitors blood sugar levels—called intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitoring (CGM)—could help people lose weight by helping them better understand how their diet affects their blood sugar.
What Was the Study About?
The study included 40 people who were overweight and had either mild type 2 diabetes or a condition called impaired glucose tolerance (which means their blood sugar is higher than normal but not high enough to be diabetes). Half of them used the CGM device along with regular diet and exercise advice. The other half just followed diet and exercise plans without using the device.
The goal was to see if the people using isCGM would lose more weight after 24 weeks.
How Does CGM Work?
The CGM device is worn on the arm. It tracks blood sugar levels all day and night. Users can scan the device with a reader or smartphone to see their current blood sugar levels. This helps them notice patterns, like how certain foods cause their blood sugar to go up.
What Did the Study Find?
Interestingly, both groups lost some weight, but there wasn’t a big difference between the two. The CGM group lost about 1.8 kg, and the control group lost about 2.2 kg over 24 weeks. So, using the device didn’t lead to more weight loss.
But the researchers noticed something else. People who used the CGM showed better control over their blood sugar swings. Their blood sugar didn’t go up and down as much during the day. This is important because high blood sugar swings can lead to other health problems, especially with the heart.
Behavioral Changes Matter
Even though there was no extra weight loss, people using the CGM seemed to eat a bit differently. The more they checked their blood sugar, the more they tended to eat protein-rich foods, which are better for stable blood sugar levels. They may have avoided foods that caused large spikes in their blood sugar, even without being told what changes to make.
This shows that simply seeing how their food affects blood sugar may have helped people make smarter food choices on their own.
Conclusion
While the CGM device didn’t help people lose more weight in this study, it did help them understand their body better. It encouraged healthy eating habits and helped reduce blood sugar ups and downs. This could be helpful for people who want to prevent diabetes or keep it under control.
In the future, combining CGM with apps or support from health professionals might be even more effective for weight loss and better health.