The Look AHEAD Study: A Description of the Lifestyle Intervention and the Evidence Supporting It

The Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) study is a multicenter, randomized controlled trial designed to determine whether intentional weight loss reduces cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in overweight individuals with type 2 diabetes. The study began in 2001 and is scheduled to conclude in 2012. A total of 5145 participants have been randomly assigned to a lifestyle intervention or to an enhanced usual care condition (i.e., diabetes support and education). This article describes the lifestyle intervention and the empirical evidence to support it. The two principal intervention goals are to induce a mean loss >or = 7% of initial weight and to increase participants' moderately intense physical…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• MG
  Massachusetts General Hospital
• UO
  University of Pennsylvania
• UO
  University of Minnesota
• JD
  Joslin Diabetes Center
• UO
  University of Pittsburgh
• UO
  University of Alabama at Birmingham
• UO
  University of Alabama
• HS
  Health Science Center, University of Tennessee