The keys to preventing Type 2 diabetes are healthier eating choices, physical activity and weight loss.
Of course, those are easy things to say but not always to follow.
First, there are some risks for Type 2 diabetes that are out of your control. You’re more likely to have diabetes if it’s in your family history, for example, and people of certain races and ethnicities are more likely to develop it.
An estimated 15 to 30 percent of people with prediabetes go on to develop Type 2 diabetes over five years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and that risk increases even more over time. Yet that doesn’t mean prediabetes is irreversible.
If you have prediabetes, here are a few steps you can take to cut your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes Prevention: Lose Weight
You’ve heard it before: Lose weight and your health will benefit. There are some convincing numbers behind this for diabetes. A large 2002 study from the U.S. government called the Diabetes Prevention Program focused on preventing the development of Type 2 diabetes in more than 3,000 people who had prediabetes. All of the participants were overweight and all had high blood sugar. The participants received individual counseling and motivational support through group classes. Researchers found that the participants who lost 5 to 7 percent of their body weight reduced prediabetes by 58 percent. The benefits were even higher in those over age 60, who reduced prediabetes by 71 percent. The results for the group with lifestyle changes were even better than a group in the study that used metformin, a common diabetes drug.
The lifestyle-focused participants lost weight through increased physical activity, healthier eating and changing their daily behaviors to make better choices.
Check with your doctor before you embark on a weight-loss program. Although many people with prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes are overweight, not everyone is. “A small amount of weight loss can go a surprisingly long way in helping glucose levels and overall good health,” says Dr. Joseph J. Schwartz, an endocrinologist in Englewood, New Jersey.
[Read: 7 Things Not to Say to Someone With Diabetes.]
Diabetes Prevention: Healthier Eating
A large part of weight loss is eating healthier most of the time. If you have prediabetes, it can be confusing to know what to eat that will help you lose weight and won’t raise your blood sugar.
For instance, “eating sugar and other carbohydrates can elevate the blood sugars of someone with diabetes, but consuming sugar does not cause diabetes,” Schwartz says.
Often, carbohydrate-rich foods like white bread, potatoes and pasta can raise your blood sugar just as much as sugar. Because the information on healthy eating gets so confusing, doctors often recommend meeting with a dietitian to get on a healthy weight-loss plan.
Don’t feel you have to embark on healthier eating on your own. “It’s hard if your family members are eating high-calorie, high-sugar foods,” says Dr. Marilyn Tan, an endocrinologist with Stanford Health Care in Stanford, California. “Get the whole family involved and on board, or have your friends involved to help choose healthier options when you go out to eat.”
[See: The 12 Best Diets to Prevent and Manage Diabetes.]
Diabetes Prevention: Physical Activity
Physical activity may be hard to fit in your daily routine, but you’ll enjoy plenty of health benefits if you do. One of those benefits is lowering your risk for Type 2 diabetes.
The recommendation these days is 150 minutes a week or 30 minutes, five times a day. So does that mean you need to join your gym and hop on the treadmill? Not exactly. “You can go to a gym, but it’s really about staying active throughout the day,” Tan says. Find ways to fit extra activity into your routine. This could include an extra walk around the block at lunch, taking the stairs to other floors or walking while you watch TV. All of those extra steps count.
Your physical activity should combine cardio exercises like walking, biking, swimming or aerobics, all of which burn calories effectively. However, your routine also should include strength training, which helps to stabilize your insulin throughout the day. Better muscle development can help your body ward off the effects of food that’s not good for you.
Patients sometimes ask Tan if they’ll lose weight by exercise alone. “There has to be a calorie reduction and exercise,” she tells them. “But that doesn’t diminish the benefits of exercise, such as decreased blood pressure, stress reduction and an improved mood.”
“I tell people that it’s not diet, exercise or weight loss alone that prevents diabetes. You need all three involved,” Tan says.
Diabetes Prevention: Better Education
Better eating, exercise and weight loss can be challenging to manage on your own. One additional step that endocrinologists and diabetes educators recommend is taking part in a diabetes education program designed by the CDC. The programs will tell you what you need to do to help avoid Type 2 diabetes, and they’ll motivate you to stay the course of living healthier.
“These are structured education programs that will talk about healthful eating and how to avoid diabetes,” says Dr. Ronald Tamler, an endocrinologist and director of the Mount Sinai Clinical Diabetes Institute in New York. The classes can also go into much more detail than doctors have time to provide, he adds.
[See: 10 Myths About Diabetes.]
In fact, it’s through these programs that participants in the Diabetes Prevention Program study were able to effectively lose weight and slash their risk of Type 2 diabetes.
You can find out about programs in your area on the CDC website or through the YMCA. The YMCA offers the same program that was designed by the Centers for Disease Control, says Dr. Matt Longjohn, a national health officer for YMCA of the USA. Sometimes employers and insurers offer the classes as well.
“If it was just about making people aware of weight loss and physical activity, no one would have diabetes,” Longjohn says. “The classes provide a lot of tactical day-to-day tricks and tools to help people sustain healthy behaviors. It’s all about behavioral change.”
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How to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes originally appeared on usnews.com
