Intensive Diabetes Therapy and Body Weight: Focus on Insulin Detemir

Weight gain can be a significant barrier to the treatment of diabetes. Insulin detemir is a basal insulin analog that can help patients move safely toward glycemic targets with less weight gain. This review discusses the potential adverse effects of, and hypothesis for, weight gain resulting from intensive insulin management of diabetes. In addition, an assessment of all weight change data from clinical trials and observational studies involving insulin detemir are presented. Finally, we discuss how the ability of insulin detemir to closely mimic endogenous insulin secretion leads to more predictable glycemic control with reduced weight gain and provides patients with a more acceptable method of achieving glycemic control.