With some extra care and attention, you may prevent type 2 diabetes .
Type 2
diabetes prevention is possible by adopting some healthy lifestyle habits
and paying attention to specific preventable diabetes complications associated
with this disease. Some steps for type 2 diabetes prevention include adopting a
healthy lifestyle and taking diabetes
medication ,
if needed. Many doctors recommend screening for
type 2 diabetes at age 30 among people at risk, such as those with a family
history of diabetes or who are overweight .
For more information, see WebMD's article Type 2 Diabetes
Screening.
Healthy Lifestyle Habits to Prevent Diabetes
First, certain diabetes risk factors
like age, family history, and ethnicity cannot be changed. However, changing
other diabetes risk factors by eating a healthier diet and
increased physical
activity -- with or without weight loss -- may help prevent type 2
diabetes.
In addition, if you have high blood pressure or are overweight, modifying
your lifestyle habits may help in type 2 diabetes prevention. Your doctor can
make specific recommendations that are right for you including diet changes and specific
exercises. Medications
to help you quit smoking, lower your cholesterol, and lower your
blood pressure help reduce your risk of complications.
A study done by the Harvard School of Public Health and published in The
New England Journal of Medicine found that being overweight and obese was
the single most important risk factor that predicted who would develop type 2
diabetes. During a 16 year follow-up period, study results showed that regular
exercise -- at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week -- and an improved diet
that's low in fat and high in fiber significantly helped with type 2 diabetes
prevention. The bottom line: type 2 diabetes prevention could be as easy as
adopting healthy lifestyle habits.
In another study, the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study Group, researchers
reviewed the effects of weight loss, diet, and exercise on type 2 diabetes
prevention in more than 500 people who were overweight and also had
pre-diabetes or borderline diabetes with an impaired oral glucose
tolerance test. They concluded that with changes geared at weight loss
and improving physical activity levels, people at high risk of developing
diabetes could reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes by more than 50%.
Medication's Role in Diabetes Prevention
New research shows that medications may help prevent the progression
to type 2 diabetes in people with impaired glucose tolerance -- and
not just in controlling type 2 diabetes once you have it. There are several
different studies that show that various types of diabetes medications,
along with a healthy lifestyle, can reduce the risk of developing diabetes in a
high-risk person.
One clinical trial, called the Diabetes Prevention Program
(DPP), conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), showed that
people who have a high risk for developing type 2 diabetes (borderline diabetes
or pre-diabetes) could reduce that risk by 31% when using the prescription
diabetes drug Metformin
alone with lifestyle and diet changes. While this is significant, the NIH study
also showed that the risk of diabetes could be reduced even further -- by 58%
-- through intensive lifestyle changes alone (specifically, nutrition and
exercise counseling). Participants in the study had blood sugar levels that
were higher than normal, but not yet high enough to be considered diabetes.
This health condition, called pre-diabetes
or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), often precedes diabetes if
intervention is not done early.
Other studies have suggested that the weight loss drug Xenical and the diabetes
medication Precose might aid in type 2 diabetes prevention by delaying the
onset of the disease. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.