Type 2 Diabetes Prevention

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• QHow does changing my diet lower my risk for type 2 diabetes?

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  A American Diabetes Association answered

  Studies show that people at high risk for diabetes may be able to prevent diabetes with weight loss, healthy eating and exercise.

  One of the most famous studies that looked at the prevention of type 2 diabetes is called the Diabetes Prevention Plan study or DPP. Scientists studied whether changing lifestyle habits, such as choosing healthier foods and physical activity, or taking diabetes medication could delay or prevent type 2 diabetes in people at high risk for the disease. The study ended a year early, when scientists discovered some amazing results!

  DPP study results:

  • People who lost about 7 percent of their body weight through eating well and increasing their physical activity (30 minutes a day five times a week) had a 58 percent lower incidence of diabetes than people who took a placebo (dummy pill).
  • People in the study who took the diabetes medication metformin had 31 percent lower incidence of diabetes than people who took a placebo.

  Find out if you are at risk for prediabetes or diabetes at www.diabetes.org/risktest.

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• QHow can I help prevent type 2 diabetes?

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  A American Diabetes Association answered

  Some people think diabetes is caused by eating sugar. But that is not true. Having diabetes is not your fault. Your chances of getting diabetes go way up if it runs in your family. If you're overweight and physically inactive, you also increase your chances of getting diabetes. Losing a small amount of weight, even 10 pounds, can make a difference. To delay or prevent diabetes, eating less than usual and being more physically active can help you lose weight.

  Find out if you are at risk for prediabetes or diabetes at www.diabetes.org/risktest.

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• QHow can a woman lower her risk of type 2 diabetes?

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  A Int'l Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) answered

  A woman who wants to lower her risk of type 2 diabetes and obesity should hit the weights. Weekly muscle-building workouts, combined with aerobic activity, was found to cut the risk of diabetes by a third in a study of 100,000 nurses over eight years. Whatever your gender, weight lifting can improve your health and help you develop a better body.
• QHow can I prevent type 2 diabetes later in my life?

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  A Stacy Wiegman, PharmD , Pharmacy, answered

  You can take steps now to help prevent type 2 diabetes later in your life. If you have a close relative with diabetes, or if you’re a woman who had diabetes during pregnancy, your risk for type 2 diabetes is already higher. Here’s what you can do:
  

  • Watch your weight. Your best bet is to maintain a healthy weight. If you’re already overweight, try to lose some. A weight loss of just 5% to 7% (that’s 10 to 14 pounds if you weigh 200 pounds) can lower your risk for diabetes.
  • Exercise. Aim for at least 30 minutes a day, five days or more a week.
  • Eat healthy foods. Choose vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean protein, fish, beans and nonfat dairy products. Keep fats to less than 30% of your total calories. Avoid white sugar and other sweets.

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• QCan exercise help prevent type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome?

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  A Stacy Wiegman, PharmD , Pharmacy, answered

  Exercise can help prevent type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome by helping you lose weight, lower high blood pressure, decrease high blood sugar levels and raise levels of HDL (the good cholesterol).
  
  Both the definition and the cause of metabolic syndrome are still controversial, however. Metabolic syndrome is a group of risk factors for heart disease and diabetes that includes high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high levels of triglycerides, low levels of HDL, and excess weight, especially abdominal fat. The cause may be insulin resistance -- when cells ignore the effects of insulin.
  
  Type 2 diabetes is high blood sugar that results when cells become resistant to insulin, the hormone needed to allow glucose from the bloodstream to enter cells. The pancreas may also slow down production of insulin in type 2 diabetes.
  
  For exercise to be effective, you should do it at least 30 minutes a day, five or more days a week.
• QHow can physical activity help prevent type 2 diabetes?

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  A Eric Olsen , Fitness, answered

  Until quite recently, it wasn't entirely certain that physical activity was effective in preventing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes or non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), although the arguments in favor of exercise's protective effect are compelling:
  
  1. Physically active societies have less NIDDM.
  
  2. As populations become more sedentary, the incidence of NIDDM increases.
  
  3. Physical activity increases sensitivity to insulin.
  
  4. Greater physical activity is associated with decreased prevalence of NIDDM in a variety of studies.
  
  Direct evidence that physical activity protects against NIDDM was demonstrated in a prospective study of college alumni aged 35 to 74. The occurrence of NIDDM in the alumni was reduced by six percent for every increase of 500 calories per week in walking, stair climbing, and moderately vigorous leisure-time activities, the amount of energy burned during an hour of jogging at 5 miles an hour, or an hour of cycling at 10 miles an hour, or swimming laps at a moderate effort.
  
  Light physical activity is effective in preventing NIDDM, but it doesn't seem to be as effective as more vigorous activities that get the heart beating and sweat flowing, a finding recently substantiated in a study of 87,253 American nurses aged 34 to 59. During eight years of follow-up, women in that study who engaged in vigorous exercise at least once a week had only two-thirds the risk of NIDDM compared with women of the same age who did not exercise vigorously.
• QWho should be screened for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes?

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  A RealAge answered

  Current guidelines differ, but the American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends that all adults be screened for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes starting at age 45. Screening is also recommended for adults under 45 who are overweight and have an additional risk factor, such as high blood pressure or a family history of diabetes.

• QCan coffee reduce my risk for type 2 diabetes?

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  A Dr. Michael Roizen, MD , Internal Medicine, answered

  A filtered cup of coffee has blood vessel-loving, brain-enhancing, headache-defeating powers, and more health benefits. Drinking four cups of coffee throughout the day reduces your risk for type 2 diabetes by 50%. Turns out it's more than the caffeine that fends off high blood sugar. Other chemicals in coffee stop damage to the building blocks of diabetes-preventing proteins. True, coffee can have side effects: anxiety, migraine headaches, abnormal heartbeat, gastric upset. If you get these, cut back on the joe so the risks don't outweigh the benefits.