Eating Through The Myths: Food, Health and Happiness - Taylor, Prof. R., Berlin, 28-Sep-12
EDIT: The link above needs Flash. If Flash isn't available, see YouTube video below.
Salient points:
1) It's a chronic calorie excess (of carbohydrates and/or fats) that causes problems.
2) Motivation, motivation, motivation!
3) Both diet and exercise are important. See Move More: Solutions to problems.
4) You can't outrun your fork. See The 5th Myth of Modern Day Dieting: You Can Outrun Your Fork.
5) Underlying Insulin Resistance needs to be addressed. See Insulin Resistance: Solutions to problems.
See also Reversal of type 2 diabetes: normalisation of beta cell function in association with decreased pancreas and liver triacylglycerol, and Pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes: tracing the reverse route from cure to cause (PDF).
For more information on Prof. Taylor's work, see Reversing Type 2 Diabetes.
EDIT: Long-term results are now in. See Primary care-led weight management for remission of type 2 diabetes (DiRECT): an open-label, cluster-randomised trial. The full study is behind a pay-wall, but here are a couple of Figures from it.
86% of participants who completed all 3 phases of the trial maintained over 15kg of weight loss and achieved remission from diabetes. Participants who dropped-out at various points achieved less weight loss at the 1 year point and achieved a lower % of remission. It's not easy for people who are consuming 15% fewer kcals/day of healthy foods to maintain motivation when they're constantly being bombarded by persuasive marketing encouraging them to eat yummy Food Products.
If beta cells have been irreversibly damaged and the above approach doesn't work, improved glycaemic control can be achieved using a LCHF diet.
