WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Dr Sheena Meredith
6th September 2011 - It is not news that lifestyle changes like losing weight can help keep diabetes at bay, but new research has identified how healthy lifestyle habits can add together to reduce the risk of developing diabetes in middle age.
Diabetes UK says the study's findings back up the advice it has been giving people for some time.NHS figures show diabetes affects 2.8 million people in the UK, 90% of them having type 2 diabetes, which can be influenced by obesity, diet and lack of exercise.
New research
The new US study looked at nearly 115,000 men and more than 92,000 women aged 50-71 who didn't have signs of diabetes, heart disease or cancer when the study began in 1995/6.
The participants had lifestyle factors checked, including diet, body weight, height, physical activity, smoking and alcohol consumption. The data came from the US National Institutes of Health AARP Diet and Health Study.
10 years later, the participants were asked whether they'd since been diagnosed with diabetes. Nearly 10% of men and 7.5% of women had.
Study findings
The study, led by researchers from the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health, found that healthy lifestyle habits could have a significant impact on whether people would develop diabetes or not.
For each additional factor in which they started out at low risk, men saw their chances of developing diabetes cut by around 31%. For women the impact was higher, at 39%.
Adding all five lifestyle factors together, being in the low risk groups at the start added up to around a 72% risk reduction for men and an 84% risk reduction for women 10 years later.
Top five life lifestyle factors
The researchers crunched the data and came up with a diabetes 'odds ratio' (or OR) for each risk factor. The larger the drop in OR from 100%, the lower the risk of developing diabetes.
- Non smoker (never smoker or gave up 10 year ago or longer). OR 84%
- Healthy diet (low glycaemic index, trans fat and fibre intake, ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fat). OR 82%
- Regular exercise. OR 77%
- Moderate alcohol consumption. OR 63%
- Healthy Body Mass Index (BMI) 18.5-24.9. OR 22%
When they added the factors together, the researcher saw how multiple healthy lifestyle habits could greatly reduce diabetes risk:
- Health diet & regular exercise. OR 71%
- Plus non-smoker. OR 67%
- Plus only moderate alcohol. OR 43%
- Plus healthy BMI. OR 16%
Even though having a family history of diabetes is known to be strongly linked to additional risk of the disease, the study also found that the reduced risk seen with healthy lifestyle factors was similar in those with or without a family history. This suggests that even people with a family history may be able to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes with a healthier lifestyle - so their risk may not be "predetermined" by their genes.
Study limitations
The researchers admit there could be some flaws in the data, with some people’s lifestyle factors being misclassified as healthy or unhealthy at the start. The study also relied on the participants saying whether or not they had diabetes at the end of the research period, rather than it being confirmed with medical records or by doctors.
Although the researchers tried to compensate for any selection bias or other factors, things like education and relative wealth could have had an influence on the data.
Reaction
Reacting to the study in a statement, Pav Kalsi, clinical advisor at Diabetes UK, says: "This research confirms what Diabetes UK already advises about a healthy lifestyle having the potential to reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
"We recommend people eat a healthy diet, give up smoking, reduce their alcohol intake, manage their weight and take up more physical activity. The more things you change for the better, the less you’ll be at risk."
Published on September 05, 2011
http://www.webmd.boots.com/diabetes/news/20110905/top-5-diabetes-lifestyle-habits-identified?
