The findings of the study state that lifestyle changes could even outnumber the benefits of the anti-diabetic drug, merformin, which helps in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.
"Millions of people could delay diabetes for years and possibly prevent the disease altogether if they lost a modest amount of weight through diet and increased physical activity," said Dr. Griffin Rodgers, director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease.
3234 diabetics studied
Researchers from the National Institute of Health analysed the findings of a 10-year Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) which was completed in 2001.
The trial included 3234 obese persons with elevated sugar levels from across 27 locations in the country. Nearly 150 obese patients from the Diabetes Research Institute of University of Miami Miller School of Medicine were also included in the count.
They were divided into three groups: those who were given the drug metformin, those who were given the placebo treatment; and others who were told to make lifestyle changes, including losing at least 7 percent of their body weight by exercising for at least 30 minutes five days a week and choosing a healthy diet.
10-year trial showed lifestyle interventions help prevent the disease
Throughout the study period, the participants undergoing the lifestyle modification programme were given counselling about nutrition, exercise, healthy eating (limiting the fatty meals) and opting for a balanced diet.
It was found that 10 years of diet and exercise programme reduced the diabetes rate by 34 percent and people in this group lost 15 pounds on an average in the first year. On the other hand, those treated with metformin reduced the risk of disease by 18 percent compared with those who were given the placebo treatment.
“When you consider the devastating medical complications that go with type 2 diabetes
, these are very significant findings," said Dr. Ronald Goldberg, lead researcher of the UM arm of the study. “It demonstrates that lifestyle changes can last as long as 10 years in preventing or slowing diabetes in people who are at risk.”
Further three-year trial
The researchers extended the study for three years beginning from 2002 wherein some partcipants were offered similar programmes of diet and exercise and others were put on either metformin or placebo.
The lifetyle changes were found to have reduced the chances of developing the disease by 58 percent. Whereas, patients who were treated with metformin but not put on lifetsyle changes were found to have lowered the long-term effects of the disease by 31 percent compared to those on placebo.
In U.S., nearly 24 million people (11 percent) have diabetes, mostly Type 2, which is linked with a poor diet and lack of exercise.
The study is published in the world’s leading medical journal Lancet.
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