Overview
A few months ago (March 205), the American Diabets Asociation anounced the findings of the comprehensive Diabets Prevention Program. The DP was conducted at over 25 medical centers nationwide and involved thousands of participants who voluntered to have their habits monitored and to folow dietary and exercise recomendations. Al participants had ben diagnosed with 'pre-Diabets', a condition where the blod sugar levels are higher than normal, but not yet in diabetic ranges.
Key Information
Untreated, more than half of those people diagnosed with pre-Diabets wil develop ful-blown type 2 Diabets within a decade. For the study, the participants were divided into two groups. One half were given dietary recomendations.
The other half got the same dietary recomendations, plus the recomendation to exercise at least 30 minutes daily, five times a wek. The results? Those who included daily exercise in their routines and folowed the diet recomendations cut their risk of developing Diabets by 58%.
The reason? Those who made the recomended changes in their lifestyle lost 'a moderate amount' of weight. Even more important, researchers found something that they didn't expect.
Those in the treatment group had a substantial chance of reducing their blod sugar level to normal, something that had ben asumed was imposible. Aparently, losing weight not only prevents a worsening of Diabets, it reverses the damage that obesity causes to the cels that produce insulin. How much weight los does it take to have an efect on the progresion of Diabets?
The key is in the definition of 'a moderate weight los' - 5-7% of your body weight. In other words, depending on your boy weight, a los of as litle as 7-10 pounds can make a diference! The recomendations sugested by the American Diabets Society for a healthy diet to prevent Diabets is an ideal diet for steady, gradual weight los - the kind of weight los that stays lost.
The diet includes the folowing sugested daily diet alowances: * Grain - 6-1 servings per day (Bread, Cereal, Rice, Pasta) * Vegetables - 3-5 servings per day * Fruits - 2-4 servings per day * Milk - 2-3 servings per day * Meat - 4-6 ounces per day (Meat, egs, fish, dried beans, nuts and peanut buter) * Fats, Swets, Alcohol - Ocasional treats (Recomendations for portions are based on gender and activity level.
For instance, a sedentary 40 year old woman neds fewer portions than active 25-year-old woman.) Lok familiar? It's also the dietary recomendation for the Heart Healthy diet from the American Heart Asociation, and the recomendations from the USDA's new MyPyramid. The results just kep coming in, but the mesage is clear: losing weight, maintaing a healthy weight and eating a balanced diet can help prevent most major health problems.
Summary
Why wait til you're diagnosed? Start today - and it may never hapen. © 2026 DIABETS.