Losing weight can improve the health of people with diabetes. If you have diabetes, a new study suggests that losing at least seven percent of your body weight can lower your blood pressure and help maintain blood sugar and cholesterol levels. “Larger weight loss improved blood sugar control, systolic blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels more than lesser weight loss at year one and year four, as reported in Diabetes Care. Blood sugar control tended to improve in the first year and then worsen again. At year four, it was only still improved among people with large weight losses – and that was true regardless of whether the large weight loss had later been regained.” This study was only observed over a four-year period so long-term benefits are not known.