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Publication #FAR8063

 

Reducing Risk for Diabetes1

Linda B. Bobroff2

Figure 1. 

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If anyone in your immediate family has type 2 diabetes, then you're probably aware that you're also at high risk for the disease. In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, and/or the insulin that it does produce isn't used efficiently in the body. In either case, the result is a rise in blood glucose (or sugar). High blood sugar over time can cause serious health complications, so it's important for people at high risk for diabetes to have their blood sugar tested regularly. People with blood sugar that is higher than normal but below the cut-off for a diagnosis of diabetes have "pre-diabetes."

However, people with pre-diabetes can prevent or delay the onset of diabetes by improving their lifestyle. The NIH-funded Diabetes Prevention Program was a large research study that demonstrated the effectiveness of intensive lifestyle intervention in greatly reducing the onset of diabetes in persons with pre-diabetes. In fact, the lifestyle group achieved better outcomes than the group that received the anti-diabetic drug metformin.

To achieve such a positive outcome, the lifestyle group changed their eating and exercise habits to promote modest weight loss of 5 to 7% of their body weight. They ate diets rich in vegetables, whole-grain foods, and fruits with low-fat or fat-free dairy foods and lean sources of protein. They received counseling for information and encouragement.

Those of us not in a research study can enlist the help of family members who can be our cheerleaders for a healthier lifestyle.

Listening, learning, and living together: it's the science of life. "Family Album" is a co-production of University of Florida IFAS Extension, the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, and of WUFT-FM. If you'd like to learn more, please visit our website at http://www.familyalbumradio.org.

To listen to the radio broadcast:

http://www.radiosource.net/radio_stories/512.mp3

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References

American Diabetes Association. (2006). Standards of medical care in diabetes, 2006. Diabetes Care, 29 (Suppl 1), S4-S42. Retrieved July 10, 2006, from http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/full/29/suppl_1/s4.

American Diabetes Association. (2004). Prevention or delay of type 2 diabetes (position statement). Diabetes Care, 27, S47-S48.

Brekke, H. K., Jansson, P., Mansson, J., & Lenner, R. (2003). Lifestyle changes can be achieved through counseling and follow-up in first-degree relatives of patients with type 2 diabetes. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 103, 835-844.

Knowler, W.C., Barrett-Connor, E., Fowler, S.E., et al. (2002). Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. New England Journal of Medicine, 346, 393-403.

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health. (2006, August). Diabetes prevention program (NIH Publication No. 06–5099). Retrieved August 28, 2006, from http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/preventionprogram/index.htm.

Sadovsky, R. (2003, January 1). Glycemia testing to diagnose type 2 diabetes mellitus. American Family Physician. Retrieved July 31, 2006, from http://www.aafp.org/afp/20030101/tips/5.html.

Footnotes

1.

This document is FAR8063, one of a series of the Family Youth and Community Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Broadcast as program 512. Published February 2009. Reviewed March 2012. In the interest of time and/or clarity, the broadcast version of this script may have been modified. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

Linda B. Bobroff, professor, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, Dean.