According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 2 in 5 adults in the United States have “prediabetes,” a condition where blood glucose levels are higher than they should be, but not as high as in type 2 diabetes.
Risk factors for developing prediabetes include being overweight or obese, being at least 45 years old, having a close relative with type 2 diabetes, having ever had gestational (pregnancy) diabetes, or given birth to a baby weighing more than 9lbs.
People with prediabetes are at great risk of developing a number of chronic health conditions, as well as progressing to type 2 diabetes, and often end up with multimorbidity, having 2 or more chronic conditions.
However, a new study has found that making just three simple lifestyle changes: losing weight, being more physically active, and adopting a healthier diet, can help prevent this.
The researchers said that one of the most encouraging aspects of this study is the reminder that chronic disease is not simply an inevitable consequence of aging. While aging itself is unavoidable, many of the biological processes that contribute to chronic disease can be influenced by the choices we make throughout life.
The researchers looked at the data from two “Diabetes Prevention Studies” that compared patients on the diabetes medication metformin, those using placebo, and those engaging in the three lifestyle interventions.
Perhaps surprisingly, they found that lifestyle modifications were more effective at preventing type 2 diabetes, as well as multiple chronic conditions, such as hypertension, stroke or heart attack, than metformin or placebo.
However, the number of chronic conditions differed between groups. In the placebo and metformin groups, participants had a median of 5 chronic conditions, whereas in the lifestyle group, the median was 4.
In total, 82% of the lifestyle group, 85% of the metformin group, and 87% of the placebo group had 2 or more chronic conditions.
However, while 81% of both the placebo and metformin groups had more than 3 chronic conditions, just 72% of the lifestyle group did.
“Lifestyle interventions are likely more effective because they target several different biological pathways simultaneously, rather than focusing on a single aspect of a disease. Metformin is an important and effective medication that primarily improves insulin sensitivity and reduces glucose production by the liver. Lifestyle changes are multifaceted and influence far more than blood sugar,” concluded the researchers.
