Research Description
Losing weight by improving nutrition and increasing exercise reduces long-term health complications from diabetes but managing weight long-term is challenging. Intermittent fasting is a newer weight loss method that specifically changes when food is eaten rather than focusing only on what is eaten. Two types of intermittent fasting are intermittent energy restriction and time-restricted eating, and both are promising alternatives to limiting calorie intake daily through changing food choices. However, there is uncertainty about whether either form of intermittent fasting improves blood sugar control or how they compare to one another. The goal of this project is to have patients with type 2 diabetes follow either intermittent energy restriction or time-restricted eating and determine whether each approach improves aspects of diabetes and heart health. Further, participants will track how well they follow and how much they enjoy their respective plans to see whether intermittent fasting is a good option to treat type 2 diabetes long-term. Lastly, information will be collected about who is able to follow each form of intermittent fasting and possible differences between people who improve their health and those who do not. Therefore, this project will answer three questions: 1) Does intermittent energy restriction or time-restricted eating improve or cure type 2 diabetes? 2) Are these intermittent fasting approaches easy enough for people with type 2 diabetes to follow? and 3) Which patients respond best to each type of intermittent fasting? These questions will help healthcare professionals understand how and when to prescribe intermittent fasting to patients.Research Profile
What area of diabetes research does your project cover? What role will this particular project play in preventing, treating and/or curing diabetes?The primary goal of this project is to determine the role of two intermittent fasting approaches for treating type 2 diabetes by improving glycemic control. We will also measure how well patients comply to each intermittent fasting regimen, how feasible and tolerable the approaches are for patients with diabetes, and how well patients like either type. Lastly, we will assess an array of metabolic and behavioral factors to try and identify what influences weight loss, improvements in blood sugar, and rates of diabetes remission. Ultimately, this research will help to determine whether intermittent fasting is a promising lifestyle change to treat type 2 diabetes, identify which patients may benefit the most from practicing either intermittent energy restriction or time-restricted eating, and help healthcare professionals safely prescribe intermittent fasting.
If a person with diabetes were to ask you how your project will help them in the future, how would you respond?Intermittent fasting is a newer weight loss method that specifically changes when food is eaten rather than focusing only on what is eaten. Two types of intermittent fasting are intermittent energy restriction and time-restricted eating, and both are promising alternatives to limiting calorie intake daily through changing food choices. However, there is uncertainty about whether either form of intermittent fasting improves blood sugar control or how they compare to one another. In this project, we have patients with type 2 diabetes follow either intermittent energy restriction or time-restricted eating during a 6-month weight loss program with regular group meetings. Then, patients will continue following their intermittent fasting assignment for 6 months on their own. We will then be able to answer three questions: 1) Does intermittent energy restriction or time-restricted eating improve blood sugar control in patients with type 2 diabetes? 2) Are these intermittent fasting approaches easy enough for people with type 2 diabetes to follow? and 3) Which patients respond best to each type of intermittent fasting? The results of this study will help patients understand whether intermittent energy restriction or time-restricted eating may be a good option for them and help healthcare professionals understand how and when to prescribe intermittent fasting to patients.
Why important for you, personally, to become involved in diabetes research? What role will this award play?Like many, I have observed the negative consequences of uncontrolled or undertreated diabetes on the health and quality of life of those around me in both personal and professional settings. Further, as someone with a strong family history of both diabetes and heart disease myself, I have experienced how empowering it is to take ownership of my health and to continually work to reduce the risk and complications of impaired glycemic control. My work as a registered dietitian has allowed me to help others to realize the benefits of nutrition and exercise and change their own health trajectories as well. Though impactful, lifestyle change is challenging for a number of reasons. Intermittent fasting garnered my attention while I was working as a dietitian in weight management and diabetes prevention. I was hopeful that intermittent fasting may be a good alternative for those patients who struggled to adhere to daily calorie restriction. Though effective for producing weight loss, intermittent fasting does not seem to work better than traditional weight loss methods. However, early evidence points to a pronounced benefit for improved glycemic control and therefore may be particularly helpful for those with type 2 diabetes. This award will allow me to test two forms of intermittent fasting in patients with diabetes and will provide preliminary data about their feasibility and effectiveness. These data will then be used to design larger, confirmatory trials comparing intermittent fasting to standard diabetes treatment.
In what direction do you see the future of diabetes research going?Personalized medicine and maximal benefit combination therapies are the directions I think are most likely. While for decades we provided patients with data on how various therapies worked on average, in the future we will be able to analyze a patient’s genetics, behavior, and metabolic factors and provide more precise data about the likelihood of a certain intervention or therapy, or combination of therapies, to work in that individual.