Lifestyle Changes Program Reduced Type 2 Diabetes Risk by 58 Percent

Programs to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes in high-risk adults do result in fewer people developing diabetes. Researchers said a program involving lifestyle changes, which was particularly effective for those 60 and older, reduced the rate of diabetes in high-risk adults by 58 percent.

The Diabetes Prevention Program funded by the National Institutes of Health, which appeared in a recent issue of Diabetes Care, showed that lifestyle changes – reduced fat and calories in the diet and increased physical activity that lead to modest weight loss – reduced the rate of type 2 diabetes in high-risk adults by 58 percent, compared with placebo. A medication, metformin, reduced diabetes by 31 percent. At present, metformin is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for diabetes prevention, but it is used by diabetics.

For more about the research, check out http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/35/4/723 and www.nih.gov/news/health/oct2009/niddk-29.htm.