Lifestyle Changes Reduce Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
Exercise, Diet and Weight Loss May Prevent Development of Diabetes
Nov 3, 2009
Findings from the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (DPPOS), a 10-year follow up of patients who participated in an early study called the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) indicate that between 34 and 58 percent of study participants who were at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes were able to avoid the disease through intensive lifestyle changes, medication to regulate blood glucose and insulin levels, or a combination of both. The results, published in the October 2, 2009 online edition of The Lancet, back up what many doctors have been advising high risk patients to do for years; start exercising, lose weight, and change eating habits to avoid developing type 2 diabetes.
High Risk for Type 2 Diabetes
Patients participating in the study were at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, also called adult onset diabetes, occurs when the body's cells are no longer sensitive or responsive to insulin. Unlike Type 1 or juvenile diabetes, in which the pancreas fails to produce sufficient quantities of insulin, type 2 diabetics produce insulin, but the receptors in the body's cells no longer respond to the insulin. Insulin acts like a key to unlock the cell to allow blood glucose inside the cells. If the cells won't unlock and let insulin and glucose inside, circulating blood glucose levels rise to unhealthy or dangerous levels. A high risk category was assigned to patients who had pre-diabetes blood glucose levels and other risk factors, such as obesity. Other factors that may put individuals at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes include obesity, family history of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol levels, poor eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle. Some of these factors are grouped together and called "metabolic syndrome" and are often noted as a predictor of developing type 2 diabetes.
How Lifestyle Changes Prevented Development of Type 2 Diabetes
Study participants focused on two lifestyle factors: weight loss and increased exercise. These lifestyle changes weren't dramatic. The study cites only "modest" weight loss, and developing a steady habit of exercising. The two alone reduced risk in one report by 34% (as reported by Washington University in St. Louis) and by 58% (as reported at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University). Another group of patients made no changes in their weight or exercise habits but took the medication metformin. The study group at Washington University reported that the medication-only group reduced their risk of developing diabetes by 18% over 10 years compared to the placebo-only group, while the group at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University reduced their risk by 31%.
Preventing Diabetes through Lifestyle Changes
The study findings are particularly important at this time when the population of America is growing increasingly more obese. According to the statement released by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, two-thirds of Americans are now classified as overweight or obese, significantly raising their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. According to the National Institute of Health, about 11% of adult Americans have some form of diabetes, with 95% of diabetics diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is the leading cause of heart disease, stroke and kidney failure, and can lead to blindness and amputation if left untreated.
According to Jill Crandall, M.D., one of the researchers at the Albert Einstein study site, “The long-term weight loss and reduction in diabetes that we observed in DPPOS are encouraging. But ultimately, establishing the benefits of preventing diabetes means showing that you can reduce the deaths and the severe complications associated with this disease."
While further follow up studies are planned, the results are encouraging. Anyone with the symptoms of type 2 diabetes - high blood glucose readings as measured by blood tests taken by a doctor, anyone overweight or obese and with other risk factors - has within their power the ability to lower their risk. And while lowering risk won't prevent the development of diabetes in every patient, there's enough proof that lifestyle changes work to reduce risk that they're worth trying. At best, patients will avoid developing type 2 diabetes while whittling their waistlines. At worst, they'll just give up sugary treats and an extra hour a day in front of the television. And that should be a fair trade off in anyone's book.
Sources:
- Full text of the DPPOS diabetes study: October 29, 2009 online edition of The Lancet. http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2809%2961457-4/fulltext
- National Diabetes Clearinghouse, National Institute of Health: http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/
- Press Release, 10/27/09, Washington University in St. Lous. "Lifestyle Changes, Drug Lower Type 2 Diabetes." Accessed on newswire.com
- Press Release, 11/3/09, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University. "Lifestyle Changes May Stave Off Diabetes for a Decade". Accessed on newswire.com
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