Weight loss drugs 'limit diabetes'

It said that those using the drugs alongside diet changes and exercise were 37% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those losing weight through lifestyle changes alone.

The four-year trial, involving the drug Xenical, included 3,304 patients at 22 centres in Sweden.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of the disease, with 80% of sufferers overweight.

The study, called Xendos (Xenical in the prevention of diabetes in obese subjects), was the first to look at the role of weight loss drugs in controlling diabetes.

Government experts, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice), have previously recommended that extremely obese adults who have already lost at least 2.5 kg by dieting should be prescribed Xenical.

It is one of two diet pills licensed in the UK and is used by thousands of people.

'Key target'

Professor Tony Barnett, clinical director of diabetes and endocrinology at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, welcomed the study's findings.

"As obesity is one of the main causes of type 2 diabetes, the results from Xendos are extremely encouraging," he said.

Emma Bunn of Diabetes UK said the study was further proof of the role weight control could play in protecting against type 2 diabetes.

She said: "Other recently published studies have shown that overweight people who modify their diet and increase their physical activity can reduce the risk of developing diabetes, but additional treatments may also have an important role to play in slowing the growth of this major public health problem.

"Reducing the risk of diabetes should be a key target for all health professionals."

Blood pressure

More than half of those using the weight loss drugs lost 5% of their body weight over four years, compared with 37% given a placebo.

A quarter of those using the drugs lost 10% - something achieved by 16% of those on a placebo.

Many were also found to have improvements in their blood pressure.

Two recent studies showed that weight loss by lifestyle modification reduced the incidence of type 2 diabetes by 58%.

Inactive lifestyles

The incidence of diabetes in the UK is expected to double by 2016, affecting almost three million people.

The spread of the disease has been linked to increasingly inactive lifestyles and usually occurs in people who are over the age of 45 and overweight.

Type 2 sufferers do not make enough insulin, or are unable to make proper use of it.

Without enough insulin, the body cannot move blood sugar into the cells. Sugar builds up in the bloodstream and causes health problems.

People with diabetes have a two to five times greater risk of developing heart disease than the rest of the population.

It can also cause problems with the kidneys, legs and feet, eyes, heart, nerves, and blood flow.

If left untreated, these problems can lead to kidney failure, gangrene and amputation, blindness, or stroke.