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Losing a moderate amount of weight doesn’t reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke for obese diabetics, a new study suggests. The study included more than 5,000 adults with type 2 diabetes. Their average weight was 220 pounds when the study started. People were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group went through an intensive program that included a low-calorie diet and 175 minutes of moderate exercise each week. They were given counseling to help them stay with the program. The other group got education about diet and weight loss, but no program. After a year, the first group had lost 8.6% of body weight and the second group less than 1%. By the end of 9.6 years, weight loss was 6% in the first group and 3.5% in the second. Both groups had similar rates of heart attack, stroke and related death.

People who eat more red meat may also increase their risk of type 2 diabetes, a new study suggests. Researchers focused on 3 large studies of health professionals. They included 149,000 people who answered questions about their diet every 4 years. Researchers kept track of them for 12 to 16 years. People who increased the amount of red meat they ate had a 48% increased risk of developing diabetes in a 4-year period. This was seen in people who ate as little as half a serving extra, or 1.5 ounces. People who decreased red meat in their diets had a 14% lower risk of diabetes than those with no change in meat eating. People who ate more red meat also tended to gain more weight. Researchers said this explained some but not all of their increase in diabetes risk. Some experts interviewed by USA Today and HealthDay News questioned the focus on red meat.

Children’s doctors can help parents get help in quitting smoking, a new study finds. Pediatricians have an interest in helping parents quit smoking in order to reduce children’s risk from the smoke. The American Academy of Pediatrics supported the study. Doctors’ offices in the study were randomly divided into two groups. All of the offices asked parents whether they were smokers. In half of the offices, doctors were asked to provide advice on quitting smoking. The program also included referrals to quitlines and prescriptions for nicotine replacement medicines. The other group of doctors just provided usual care to children. Nearly 1,000 parents were in each group. They were interviewed at the end of the office visit to assess what happened. Researchers found that 24% of the offices in the test program provided counseling on quitting smoking.

Wiser use of prescription drugs could bring big savings for the U.S. health care system. A new report estimates the total at $213 billion each year. That’s about 8% of the nation’s annual health care costs. The IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics published the report. The institute is part of IMS Health. This company uses its data on prescriptions written by doctors to provide advice to drug companies and others. The report defined 6 ways that better use of drugs could save money. For example, patients could help by taking medicines as prescribed. That would produce the biggest savings, $105 billion, the report said. Doctors and patients also could use generic drugs instead of brand names when available. They could avoid antibiotics for diseases caused by viruses. Doctors could prescribe medicines when guidelines recommend them and use tools to prevent prescribing errors.