The Media Line: Lifestyle Changes May Protect Against Diabetes Even After Weight Regain: Ben-Gurion Study 

Lifestyle Changes May Protect Against Diabetes Even After Weight Regain: Ben-Gurion Study 

By The Media Line Staff 

Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and partner institutions said Wednesday that lifestyle-driven reductions in deep abdominal fat may protect against type 2 diabetes years later, even when participants later regain weight. 

The findings, published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, were based on long-term follow-up from two clinical trials that examined how diet and physical activity affect body fat distribution and metabolic health. Participants were tracked five and 10 years after 18-month interventions, giving researchers a rare long-range view of what happens after formal weight-loss programs end. 

The study focused on visceral adipose tissue, the fat stored deep in the abdomen around internal organs. Unlike subcutaneous fat, which lies under the skin, visceral fat has been strongly linked in previous research to insulin resistance, inflammation, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes risk. 

The researchers found that loss of visceral fat was more closely tied to durable metabolic benefit than overall weight loss. A 10% reduction in visceral fat was associated with a 28% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes during follow-up, according to the study. Participants who reduced visceral fat also showed better blood sugar regulation, improved insulin sensitivity, and other favorable cardiometabolic markers. 

The same long-term protective pattern was not seen for reductions in liver fat, pancreatic fat, or subcutaneous fat, the researchers said. 

The findings add to a growing body of evidence that body composition and fat location can matter as much as, or more than, the number on the scale. Physicians have long used body weight and body mass index as broad measures of health risk, but those measurements do not show where fat is stored or how metabolically active it may be. 

The study suggests that lifestyle programs aimed at improving diet quality and physical activity may produce lasting health gains even when weight loss is not fully maintained. 

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