Intermittent energy restriction, time-restricted eating and continuous energy restriction can all improve blood sugar levels and body weight in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes, according to a study presented at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in San Francisco, California.
"This study is the first to compare the effects of three different dietary interventions intermittent energy restriction (IER), time-restricted eating (TRE) and continuous energy restriction (CER) in managing type 2 diabetes with obesity," said Haohao Zhang, Ph.D., chief physician at The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in Zhengzhou, China.
Although researchers identified improved HbA1c levels, and adverse events were similar across the three groups, the IER group showed greater advantages in reducing fasting blood glucose, improving insulin sensitivity, lowering triglycerides, and strengthening adherence to the dietary interventions.
"The research fills a gap in directly comparing 5:2 intermittent energy restriction with a 10-hour time-restricted eating in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes. The findings provide scientific evidence for clinicians to choose appropriate dietary strategies when treating such patients," Zhang said.
Zhang and colleagues performed a single-center, randomized, parallel-controlled trial at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from November 19, 2021 to November 7, 2024.
Ninety patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to the IER, TRE or CER group, with consistent weekly caloric intake across all groups. A team of nutritionists supervised the 16-week intervention.
Of those enrolled, 63 completed the study. There were 18 females and 45 males, with an average age of 36.8 years, a mean diabetes duration of 1.5 years, a baseline BMI of 31.7 kg/m², and an HbA1c of 7.42%.
At the end of the study, there were no significant differences in HbA1c reduction and weight loss between the IER, TRE and CER groups. However, the absolute decrease in HbA1c and body weight was greatest in the IER group.
Compared to TRE and CER, IER significantly reduced fasting blood glucose and triglycerides and increased the Matsuda index, a measure of whole-body insulin sensitivity. Uric acid and liver enzyme levels exhibited no statistically significant changes from baseline in any study group.
Two patients in the IER group and the TRE group, and three patients in the CER group, experienced mild hypoglycemia.
The IER group had the highest adherence rate (85%), followed by the CER group at 84% and the TRE group at 78%. Both the IER and CER groups showed statistically significant differences compared with the TRE group.
Zhang said these findings highlight the feasibility and effectiveness of dietary interventions for people who have obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Because the final version of the legislation moved swiftly through the Senate and the House, estimates regarding the number of people likely to lose their health insurance coverage were incomplete when Congress approved it[3] by razor-thin...
Women and older adults taking the anti-obesity drug semaglutide may be at higher risk for muscle loss, but higher protein intake may help prevent muscle loss in these patients, according to a small study presented at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif.
Losing muscle (or lean mass) is a common side effect of weight loss in adults with obesity and may negatively affect metabolism and bone health. This is because muscle helps control blood sugar after meals and plays an important role in keeping bones strong, according to study lead researcher Melanie Haines, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass.
Approximately 40% of the weight lost from taking semaglutide -- a type of weight-loss medication known as a GLP-1 -- comes from lean mass, including muscle. It is not yet known who is at highest risk for muscle loss or how it affects blood sugar levels, Haines said.
The researchers studied 40 adults with obesity for three months. Of these patients, 23 were prescribed semaglutide, while 17 followed a diet and lifestyle program for weight loss called Healthy Habits for Life (HHL). The researchers evaluated how their muscle mass changed.
Study participants who were prescribed semaglutide lost more weight than those who participated in the diet and lifestyle program, but the percent of weight loss that was lean mass was similar between the two groups.
After accounting for weight loss, the researchers found that in the semaglutide group, being older, female or eating less protein was linked to greater muscle loss. Also in this group, losing more muscle was linked to less improvement in blood sugar (HbA1c levels).
"Older adults and women may be more likely to lose muscle on semaglutide, but eating more protein may help protect against this," Haines said. "Losing too much muscle may reduce the benefits of semaglutide on blood sugar control. This means preserving muscle during weight loss with semaglutide may be important to reduce insulin resistance and prevent frailty in people with obesity."
Haines said that more studies are needed to find the best way to lose fat but keep muscle when using GLP-1 medications.
A cutting-edge mouse study reveals that tirzepatide, the dual GLP-1/GIP drug already hailed for impressive weight loss, does more than trim fat: it slashes the growth of obesity-linked breast tumors. University of Michigan researchers found mice lost about 20 % body weight and adipose tissue while their tumors shrank in tandem, hinting that the blockbuster medication could one day double as a cancer-fighting ally for patients with obesity.
FULL STORY
Mice on tirzepatide shed major pounds and, in the process, their breast tumors shrank—early evidence that weight-loss drugs might also tame obesity-driven cancers. Credit: Shutterstock
The anti-obesity medication tirzepatide, marketed as Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for obesity, reduced obesity-associated breast cancer growth in a mouse model, according to a study presented at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in San Francisco, California.
"Obesity is a significant risk factor for breast cancer, and while it is very preliminary data, our studies in mice suggest that these new anti-obesity drugs may be a way to reduce obesity-associated breast cancer risk or improve outcomes," said study author Amanda Kucinskas, B.S., a Ph.D. candidate in the labs of Drs. Erin Giles and Kanakadurga Singer at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Existing research has shown that having obesity can lead to worse breast cancer outcomes compared to those who do not have obesity, and weight loss can improve outcomes. However, there are many challenges with traditional weight loss methods.
Kucinskas and colleagues leveraged tirzepatide, one of a new class of effective anti-obesity medications that target GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1) and GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) receptors. The researchers sought to learn whether or not tirzepatide would reduce obesity-associated breast cancer growth.
This mouse study included 16 mice. The 9-week-old C57BL/6 mice were fed a 40% high-fat diet and housed in a warm environment to induce obesity. At 32 weeks of age, the mice with obesity were randomly assigned injections of tirzepatide or a placebo every other day for 16 weeks. Tumor volumes were measured twice weekly.
The researchers found that the anti-obesity drug reduced body weight and body fat by approximately 20% in mice, similar to the amount of weight loss achieved by women on this drug. They found this was primarily due to a loss of adipose mass, with a reduction in adipose depot weights compared to controls.
The anti-obesity drug also reduced tumor volume compared to the controls. At the end of the study, the researchers found that tumor volume was significantly correlated with body weight, total adipose mass and the amount of fat stored in the liver.
"While these are very preliminary results, they suggest that this new anti-obesity drug may also have a beneficial impact on breast cancer outcomes," Kucinskas said.
Ongoing studies are underway in collaboration with Dr. Steve Hursting's lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to separate the weight loss from the tumor-specific effects of tirzepatide.
Story Source:
Materials provided by The Endocrine Society. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Cite This Page:
The Endocrine Society. "Weight-loss wonder drug Mounjaro/Zepbound shrinks breast cancer tumors." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 July 2025. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250715043353.htm>.
The Endocrine Society. (2025, July 15). Weight-loss wonder drug Mounjaro/Zepbound shrinks breast cancer tumors. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 15, 2025 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250715043353.htm
The Endocrine Society. "Weight-loss wonder drug Mounjaro/Zepbound shrinks breast cancer tumors." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250715043353.htm (accessed July 15, 2025).
July 13, 2025 Postmenopausal women struggling with weight loss may find a powerful solution by combining the diabetes drug tirzepatide with menopause hormone therapy. A Mayo Clinic study revealed that this dual ...
July 13, 2025 In a striking new study, the anti-obesity drug tirzepatide, known as Mounjaro and Zepbound, not only triggered significant weight loss in obese mice but also slashed breast cancer tumor growth. The ...
Feb. 24, 2025 Diabetes and obesity have become pressing health issues worldwide. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, a class of medications widely used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D), ...
Jan. 23, 2025 With the recent surge in popularity of weight loss drugs like Ozempic, altogether called GLP-1s, there has been renewed scientific interest in understanding how our bodies regulate muscle growth. ...
Oct. 7, 2024 Fatty liver disease is a growing global health concern. Proglucagon-derived peptides (PGDPs), including glucagon, GLP-1, and GLP-2, are known to regulate lipid metabolism in the liver. However, the ...
Feb. 17, 2021 Researchers who focus on fat know that some adipose tissue is more prone to inflammation-related comorbidities than others, but the reasons why are not well understood. Thanks to a new analytical ...
