A study at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle, in collaboration with the UW, is looking at the long-term effects on cardiovascular disease when people with diabetes lose weight. The study, also being conducted at 15 other sites nationwide, will last 9 years to 11 1/2 years and is funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, one of the National Institutes of Health
Steven Kahn, professor of medicine in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Nutrition, is leading the study at the VA medical center. Participants are between the ages of 45 and 75, have type 2 diabetes, and are overweight or obese.
These participants will be divided randomly into a control group and an intervention group. The control group will receive education about diabetes and healthy lifestyle. The intervention group will receive the same education but will also receive formal classes teaching dietary weight loss and exercise interventions. They will also receive dietary supplements, including meal supplements, in an attempt to reduce their calorie intake.
The Look AHEAD study has been recruiting for the last 2 1/2 years, and researchers are now assigning the last few recruits to a group. The Seattle site has recruited 341 subjects, with a nationwide goal of 5,000 subjects by this summer.
January 30, 2004