There is no doubt that weight training will help you build muscle and improve your weight loss efforts but a new study shows that it may prevent type 2 diabetes as well. According to the Harvard School of Public Health and University of South Denmark researchers, men who weight train on a regular basis, for instance, 30 minutes a day for one week, could cut their risk of type 2 diabetes by up to 34%. Strength training, eating healthy and aerobic exercise combined have always been the key to effective weight loss and reduced health risks such as heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

Type 2 diabetes is a serious health concern and it is steadily on the rise. Approximately 346 million people across the world are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and diabetes-related deaths are subjected to double between 2005 and 2030, according to the World Health Organization. Over 80% of these diabetes-related deaths occur in low and middle income countries. This means the poor individuals are the ones that suffer the most from type 2 diabetes and the people earning an average living.

Researchers studied 32,002 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study observed from 1990 to 2008. Questionnaires were filled out every two years on how much time the men spent each week on aerobic exercise and weight training. The researchers adjusted for other physical activities such as alcohol and coffee intake, television viewing, smoking, ethnicity, family history of diabetes, and other dietary factors. There were 2,278 new cases of diabetes between the men followed.

The results showed that even the modest amount of weight training can help reduce type 2 diabetes risk. The researchers categorized the men according to how much weight training they performed each week-between 1 and 59 minutes, between 60 and 149 minutes, and at least 150 minutes. They found that the training reduced their type 2 diabetes risk by 12 percent, 25%, and 34%, respectively, compared to no weight training at all. Aerobic exercise is associated with great benefits also, the researchers discovered-it cut the risk of type 2 diabetes by 7 percent, 38%, and 54%, respectively, for the three categories mentioned above.

When weight training and aerobic exercise were combined it produced the greatest benefits researchers say. Men who performed more than 2.5 hours of aerobics as well as at least 2.5 hours of weight training per week had a 59 percent reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.

With all the popular weight training and aerobic exercise programs such as P90X and the Insanity Workout, people around the world have the chance to stay healthy and improve their physique right in their household. Low and middle income individuals don’t have to spend tons of money for gym memberships or waste their money on ineffective weight loss schemes anymore. Individuals who are at risk of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes now have hope with a discovery that has never been found before. Weight training is suitable for all ages so even the elderly can reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes as well. People around the world can now lose weight and reduce their chances of type 2 diabetes by weight training and performing aerobic exercise 2.5 hours per week.

Source: Archives of Internal Medicine and Medical Xpress

The new weight loss pill Belviq (lorcaserin hydrochloride), made by Arena Pharmaceutical’s company has been recently approved by the FDA. This is the first drug for long-term weight loss that has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration in 13 years. Belviq works by activating the serotonin 2C receptor in the brain which could help you eat less by feeling full longer after small meals. When used with a combination of a balanced diet and exercise, this prescription helps individuals lose about 5% or more of their beginning weight.

According to Janet Woodcock, director of FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, “Obesity threatens the overall well-being of patients and is a major public health concern. The approval of this drug, used responsibly in combination with a healthy diet and lifestyle, provides a treatment option for Americans who are obese” or overweight patients who have one other weight-related condition such as high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes or high cholesterol.

Adults who contain a body mass index (BMI) of 27 or higher (overweight) are approved for this drug which should be available in the first quarter of 2013. This is also for adults who are obese with a BMI of 30 or higher.

Approximately 36 percent of adults in America are obese, which is roughly 30 more pounds over a healthy weight. Those extra pounds increase the risk of heart disease, type-2 diabetes, stroke, many other types of cancer, sleep apnea and other debilitating and chronic diseases. There are about 42 percent of adults who are projected to be obese by the year 2030 if something isn’t done to stop the trend.

There were three randomized, placebo-controlled tests that contained approximately 8,000 overweight and obese patients, with and without type-2 diabetes, treated for 52 to 104 weeks. These trials were used to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Belviq. The results show that individuals who took Belviq for at least 12 months had an average weight loss of 3% to 3.7%.

It will be mandatory for the drug’s manufacturer to conduct 6 post-marketing studies, including a long-term cardiovascular outcomes trial to assess the effect of Belviq one the risk for major adverse cardiac events such as stroke and heart attack. The heart function valve of about 8,000 patients was assessed by echocardiography in the Belviq development program.

The FDA says that individuals with congestive heart failure should be cautious when using this medication because it has not been studied in patients with serious valvular heart disease. The Belviq weight loss pill may cause disturbances in memory or attention. The FDA also says that Lorcaserin should not be used during pregnancy.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, there “was no statistically significant difference between lorcaserin and placebo-treated patients.

In 1997, the weight loss drugs fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine were taken from the market after evidence discovered that they caused heart valve damage. The effect is assumed to be related to activation of the serotonin 2B receptor on heart disease. When used at the approved dose of 10 milligrams twice per day, Belviq does not appear to activate the serotonin 2B receptor. 

The Belviq weight loss pill has an approved label that recommends patients to discontinue use if they fail to lose 5% of their body weight after 3 months because these patients are unlikely to achieve much weight loss with continued use, says the FDA.

The most common side effects of Belviq in non-diabetic patients include dizziness, headache, fatigue, dry mouth, nausea, and constipation, and in diabetic patients are low blood sugar, back pain, fatigue, cough and headache.

Belviq is manufactured by Arena Pharmaceuticals GmbH of Zofingen, Switzerland and distributed by Eisai Inc. of Woodcliff Lake, N.J.

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Source: FDA and USA Today News