Lifestyle changes can stave off diabetes long term

What works best to stave off diabetes type 2 in people at high risk? New long-term research shows there’s really no substitute for good old-fashioned healthy diet and plenty of exercise.

More than 23 million Americans have diabetes, and the numbers are rising. The condition is linked to being overweight and not getting enough exercise, although that’s not always the cause. There have been a number of studies looking at whether diabetes medication or other interventions help prevent or delay a diabetes diagnosis for people who are overweight and at high risk.

Perhaps surprisingly, one of the biggest of these studies showed that getting support and advice about exercising more, eating healthfully, and losing weight was more successful than taking a diabetes medication called metformin. Now, follow-up studies have shown the effects last for at least 10 years.

During the follow-up, people who’d taken metformin and those who had been on a pretend (placebo) medication were also given advice about diet and exercise. Perhaps as a result, their chances of getting diabetes then fell. So, the gap between the groups narrowed during the 10 years, but overall, people who’d started with the diet and exercise program were less likely to have diabetes by the end of the study.

Interestingly, the people who did best were seniors. They were more likely to lose weight and keep it off, and had the biggest reduction in diabetes risk. The researchers think this may be because they attended more support sessions, maybe because they had more time.

What you need to know. Sometimes it feels like there’s little you can do to protect yourself against diseases. But this study shows that adopting a healthier lifestyle really does make a difference. Keeping to a healthy weight and taking plenty of exercise give long-term protection against serious medical conditions like diabetes.

—Anna Sayburn, patient editor, BMJ Group 

ConsumerReportsHealth.org has partnered with The BMJ Group to monitor the latest medical research and assess the evidence to help you decide which news you should use.

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Photo courtesy of jules:stonesoup

Comments

[Miss M]

As someone with a family history of diabetes, I found this article to be quite informative. Adopting a healthier lifestyle has proven to be beneficial in many areas of life.

[Dr. Douglas Husbands]

As a long-time doctor practicing Clinical Nutrition, Chiropractic and Functional Medicine, I have repeatedly seen the outstanding clinical benefit in many patients who we've implemented dietary modifications, therapeutic-dose nutritional supplementation and lifestyle modifications for reversing type 2 diabetes. These therapeutic methods, called "Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes" by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have also shown to be "the most effective" for treatment, and resolution of, type 2 diabetes. We have also seen more effective insulin control in those with type 1 diabetes using these methods.

Dr. Douglas Husbands; www.drhusbands.com