Diabetes type 2, weight loss treatment can be done under single procedure? Research reveals big health update

An ​outpatient endoscopic procedure used to treat type 2 diabetes can help prevent people ​from regaining weight after they discontinue taking GLP-1 drugs, interim results from a clinical trial suggest. Patients in the trial had each lost at least 15 per cent ​of their body weight, or about 40 pounds (18 kilograms) using Eli Lilly's tirzepatide before they stopped taking the drug, sold as Zepbound for obesity and Mounjaro for diabetes.


Type 2 Diabetes



Trial participants either underwent a procedure used to improve blood sugar control in type 2 diabetes called duodenal mucosal resurfacing, or a sham procedure.

Results from the first 45 people in the more than 300-patient trial found that those who had the sham procedure had regained 40 per cent more weight than the treatment group at six months.

Patients who had ‌the most tissue resurfaced maintained ⁠over 80 per cent of their ⁠weight loss, regaining about 7 pounds (3.2 kg) on average - roughly half the weight regained by the control group, the researchers said.

Over time, high-fat, high-sugar diets can lead to changes in the lining of the duodenum - the upper part of the small intestine – ultimately rewiring how ​the gut responds to food. This affects hormone production, leading to insulin resistance and metabolic diseases, the researchers explained.

The procedure ​is approved for patients with type 2 diabetes in Europe but is still considered experimental in the United States.

Low-Plastic Diet




With tiny plastic particles finding their way into plants, animals and people, researchers in Australia tried to reduce exposure to the contaminants by adherence to a low-plastic diet. They randomly assigned ​60 volunteers to follow ​either their usual routine or the low-plastic diet for seven ⁠days, according to a report in Nature Medicine.

Diet participants received combinations of plastic-free kitchenware, low-plastic personal-care products and food sourced from producers that minimized all plastic touchpoints from paddock to plate.

The interventions maintained participants’ daily energy intake while decreasing their urinary levels of markers of plastics exposure, including bisphenol A by nearly 60 per cent. Urinary levels of mono-n-butyl phthalate were reduced by 37.5 per cent and monobenzyl phthalate by 53.5 per cent, the researchers found.

Unexpectedly, in a ​separate group of volunteers observed as they followed their usual routines, the researchers found that each additional serving of fruits and vegetables was associated with a roughly 2 per cent decrease in urinary mono-iso-butyl phthalate but a 7 per cent increase in urinary bisphenol S, two other markers of plastics exposure. “This leads to the question of whether these chemicals are in the food at the time it is harvested,” a separate team of researchers wrote in a commentary published with the study.