How to Prevent or Delay Diabetes

Pre-diabetes is a serious medical condition that can be treated. The good news is that the recently completed Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) study conclusively showed that people with pre-diabetes can prevent the development of type 2 diabetes by making changes in their diet and increasing their level of physical activity. They may even be able to return their blood glucose levels to the normal range.

While the DPP also showed that some medications may delay the development of diabetes, diet and exercise worked better. Just 30 minutes a day of moderate physical activity, coupled with a 5-10% reduction in body weight, produced a 58% reduction in diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is developing materials that will help people understand their risks for pre-diabetes and what they can do to halt the progression to diabetes and even to "turn back the clock." In the meantime, ADA has a wealth of resources for people with diabetes or at risk for diabetes that can be of use to people interested in pre-diabetes.

Nutrition

The American Diabetes Association bookstore has award-winning books on nutrition, recipes, weight loss, meal planning and more.

Exercise

Tips on how to include a healthy amount of physical activity into your daily routine:

You can get fit, reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes, and support the American Diabetes Association by participating in StepOut: Walk to Fight Diabetes.

Tools

Small Steps. Big Rewards. Prevent type 2 diabetes.
The National Diabetes Education Program has designed a national awareness campaign to target people at risk for type 2 diabetes. The campaign will create awareness that type 2 diabetes can be prevented through modest lifestyle changes and losing about 5 to 7 percent of body weight.

CheckUp America is a national prevention initiative of the American Diabetes Association aimed at helping people learn how to lower their risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Download the CheckUp Chart

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