Is diabetes preventable?

The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) was a remarkable study conducted by the National Institutes of Health on the prevention of type 2 diabetes. The study was carried out at 27 centers in the United States that enrolled more than 3,000 men and women.

These participants had impaired glucose tolerance (pre-diabetes), the condition that increases the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes. The study recruited people who are known to be at a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. These people included individuals aged 60 years or older, women who in the past had diabetes during pregnancy, people with a first degree relative with type 2 diabetes, and people belonging to the minority groups such as African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and American Indians. 

The findings of this study, released in August 2001, firmly proved and conclusively established that even people at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes can reduce their chances of getting this disease by about 58 percent when they make simple lifestyle changes. In addition to the DPP, there are other population studies, which show that lifestyle changes can prevent type 2 diabetes up to 90 percent. 

The following lifestyle changes, as shown by the DPP and other studies, are helpful in preventing type 2 diabetes: 

Regular exercise usually walking or other moderate intensity exercise for about 30 minutes every day. Newest research, however, suggests that at least 60 minutes a day of moderate intensity exercise such as brisk walking is more effective than 30 minutes of exercise in preventing chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes. This means that an increased amount of physical activity may increase the number of people preventing type 2 diabetes.

Low fat healthy diet.

To prevent type 2 diabetes, the DPP recommended its participants to consume fat less than 25 percent of their total calories. If this approach did not work alone, the DPP recommended, in addition, to limit daily calorie intake such as:

• 1,200 calories for people weighing 120 to 174 pounds
• 1,500 calories for people weighing 175 to 219 pounds
• 1,800 calories for people weighing 220 to 249 pounds
• 2,000 calories for people weighing greater than 250 pounds

Consumption of low fat low calorie diet will help you achieve healthy weight and maximize your chances of preventing type 2 diabetes when you are at its increased risk.

Saturated fat such as found in red meat and whole milk is associated with producing insulin resistance in the body and glucose intolerance, thereby increasing the risk of getting type 2 diabetes. To reduce this risk, your diet should be very low in saturated fat and cholesterol. 

According to the newest recommendations, saturated fat and dietary cholesterol are not beneficial for health, and therefore should be very limited in a healthy diet. You should use healthy fats such as monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat in place of saturated fat. 

Rich sources of monounsaturated fat include nuts, olive oil, canola oil, and peanut oil. 

Polyunsaturated fat is found in corn, sunflower, and soybean oils. These fats, when used in place of saturated fat, help improve your glucose tolerance and enhance the action of your insulin, helping prevent type 2 diabetes. 

However, excessive intake of any fat, good fat or bad fat, is unhealthy. Its one disadvantage is that it produces glucose intolerance and insulin resistance in the body, increasing the risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Research shows that limiting your total daily fat intake within the range of 20 to 35 percent of your total calories is helpful in promoting good health and reduction of your risk for chronic diseases, including diabetes. 

Reduction of excess weight by about 5 to 7 percent. Such a reduction helped the participants of the DPP to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes. Research shows that more than 80 percent of the people with type 2 diabetes are overweight. 

This is because excess weight tends to depress the action of insulin, resulting in raised blood sugar levels. Because weight reduction increases your body’s sensitivity to insulin, it helps prevent and manage type 2 diabetes. Keeping weight within the BMI range of 21 to 23 (see chapter 9) has been shown to help prevent type 2 diabetes (The BMI range of 24.9 regarded normal by the NHLBI may not be as effective in preventing type 2 diabetes as the more strict range of 21 to 23).

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