Reducing Your Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes
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If you have been diagnosed with prediabetes or have risk factors for type 2 diabetes , there are steps you can take to lower your risk of developing the condition. These steps include:
Regular Exercise and Weight Loss
Insulin is a hormone produced in the body. It helps glucose move out of the blood and into body tissue for use as energy. Excess body weight makes your tissues less responsive to insulin. This can lead to high blood sugar. By losing weight, your body tissues will be more sensitive to insulin and better able to use insulin. Studies suggests that you can lower your risk of type 2 diabetes by as much as 58% through moderate, sustained weight loss (between 4%-5% weight loss for three years) and daily exercise.
Regular exercise can help reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes in two ways:
- Exercise alone lowers blood sugar levels by making your cells more sensitive to insulin.
- Regular exercise will help you lose weight. In combination with regular exercise, eating a healthy, reduced-calorie diet is an essential part of losing and maintaining a healthy weight.
Heart disease is a common complication of diabetes. Regular exercise can help lower the levels of fat and cholesterol in your blood and lower your blood pressure. This will decrease your risk for heart disease.
Choose exercises that you enjoy. Make it part of your daily routine. Strive to maintain an exercise program that keeps you fit and at a healthy weight. For most people, this could include walking briskly or participating in another aerobic activity for at least 30 minutes per day.
Before you start any exercise program, talk to your doctor. It is important that you wear a diabetes identification bracelet when you exercise.
Medications
Metformin
Metformin (Glucophage) has been shown to lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 31%. This medicine is used to treat type 2 diabetes, but may be a good option if you have risk factors that you cannot change through lifestyle modifications. These risk factors include family members with type 2 diabetes, a diagnosis of polycystic ovarian syndrome , a history of gestational diabetes , or if you are a member of an ethnic group that is at higher risk, including:
- African American
- Hispanic American
- Pima Indians
- Native American
- Asian American
- Pacific Islander
Rosiglitazone
Rosiglitazone (Avandia) has also been shown to reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes in patients over the age of 30 with insulin resistance. Although, it may slightly increase the risk of heart failure .
Acarbose
Acarbose has been shown to reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes by 25% in people at high risk for the condition.
Talk to your doctor about whether these preventive measures are right for you.
A Combination Approach
If your doctor has identified you as being at risk for type 2 diabetes, you may be able to lower your risk by:
- Drinking alcohol in moderation—This means two drinks per day for a man, and one drink per day for a woman.
- Taking medicine
- Making lifestyle changes (eg, exercising and eating a healthy diet)
References:
AACE Diabetes Mellitus Clinical Practice Guidelines Task Force. Medical guidelines for the clinical practice for the management of diabetes mellitus. American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists website. Available at: http://www.aace.com/pub/pdf/guidelines/DMGuidelines2007.pdf. Published 2007. Accessed February 12, 2010.
American Diabetes Association. American Diabetes Association position statement: standards of medical care in diabetes 2010. Diabetes Care. 2010;33:S1-S99.
American Diabetes Association website. Available at: http://www.diabetes.org . Accessed February 12, 2010.
Chiasson JL. Acarbose for the prevention of diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance: the study to prevent non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (STOP-NIDDM) trial. Endocr Pract. 2006;12(Suppl 1):25-30.
Endocrine Society website. Available at: http://www.endo-society.org. Accessed February 12, 2010.
Gillies CL, Abrams KR, Lambert PC, et al. Pharmacological and lifestyle interventions to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes in people with impaired glucose tolerance: systematic review and meta-analysis. Brit Med J. 2007;334:299-302.
Joslin Diabetes Center website. Available at: http://www.joslin.org/ . Accessed February 8, 2006.
Knowler WC, Barrett-Connor E, Fowler SE, et al. Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. N Engl J Med . 2002;346(6):393-403.
Orozco LJ, Buchleitner AM, Gimenez-Perez G, et al. Exercise or exercise and diet for preventing type 2 diabetes mellitus. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008;16;(3):CD003054.
11/29/2006 DynaMed's Systematic Literature Surveillance DynaMed's Systematic Literature Surveillance : Lindstrom J, Ilanne-Parikka P, Peltonen M, et al. Sustained reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes by lifestyle intervention: follow-up of the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study. Lancet . 2006;368(9548):1673-1679.
11/29/2006 DynaMed's Systematic Literature Surveillance DynaMed's Systematic Literature Surveillance : DREAM (Diabetes REduction Assessment with ramipril and rosiglitazone Medication) Trial Investigators; Gerstein HC, Yusuf S, Bosch J, et al. Effect of rosiglitazone on the frequency of diabetes in patients with impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet . 2006;368(9541):1096-1105.
10/12/2009 DynaMed Systematic Literature Surveillance DynaMed's Systematic Literature Surveillance : Crandall JP, Polsky S, Howard AA, et al. Alcohol consumption and diabetes risk in the Diabetes Prevention Program. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;90:595-601.
Last reviewed February 2010 by Bridget Sinnott, MD, FACE
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
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