August 15, 2001
		Lifestyle Changes Ward Off Type II Diabetes According to the largest-ever U.S. clinical trial on diabetes prevention, adopting a low-fat diet and getting a moderate amount of exercise can dramatically cut your chances of getting Type II diabetes. People at high risk for adult-onset diabetes can reduce their risk of getting the disease by nearly 60 percent if they switch to a low-fat diet and exercise 30 minutes a day for five days a week. Even more dramatically, in people over the age of 60, diet and exercise modification can cut their risk of diabetes by 71 percent. The three-year clinical trial offered such positive results, the study was ended early so researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) could announce the findings. "This study shows that small changes make a huge difference in reducing risk," said Dr. Judith Fradkin, director of the NIDDK division of diabetes, endocrinology and metabolic diseases, which ran the trial. "These small changes work across the board, no matter what weight you are, no matter what sex you are, no matter what race you are," Fradkin added. The study had 3,234 participants with impaired glucose intolerance (IGT), a precursor to adult-onset diabetes, and 45 percent were from ethnic groups known to be prone to diabetes: African-Amercians, Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Americans, Pacific Islanders and Native Americans. The volunteers were divided into three groups: one group underwent lifestyle changes, which included a low-fat diet and 150 minutes of exercise a week; another group took 850 milligrams of the diabetes drug Glucophage twice daily; and the third group took a placebo. Those in the first group reduced their risk of Type II diabetes by 58 percent, said Dr. Fradkin. About 29 percent of the group given placebos developed diabetes within three years; 22 percent of those taking Glucophage did too. Dr. Robert Sherwin, a professor of medicine at the Yale University School of Medicine and former president of the American Diabetes Association said, "The study shows that avoiding the risk of Type II diabetes does not require incredible changes in lifestyle. You don't have to run around the track all day or starve yourself. You can lose 10 pounds and walk briskly for 30 minutes a say and prevent the disease." Diabetes in the U.S. has risen by a third since 1990, and it costs the nation about $100 billion a year in treatment and lost productivity. Diabetes kills about 200,000 Americans a year, and it is the top cause of kidney failure, limb amputations and adult-onset blindness, as well as a leading cause of heart disease and stroke. "I think the take-home message of the study is, Diabetes can be prevented, and it can be done in America," said Dr. Christopher Saudek, president of the American Diabetes Association.