Diet, exercise can reduce diabetes odds - Diabetes - type 2 diabetes - Brief Article

NEW YORK -- A study from the Diabetes Prevention Program and the National Institutes of Health has found that Americans at risk for type 2 diabetes can lower their chances of getting the disease sharply with diet and exercise--regardless of their risk factors. The same study found that treatment with the oral diabetes drug metformin (Glucophage) also reduces diabetes risk, though less dramatically, in people at high risk for type 2 diabetes.

"This study is very important. For the first time in the United States, there is evidence that type 2 diabetes can be prevented," Christopher Saudek, M.D., president of the American Diabetes Association, told Drug Store News. "This is an epidemic that causes tremendous loss. Any step in prevention or delay is significant."

The DPP study, results of which were reported last year, was based on a clinical trial comparing diet and exercise treatment with metformin in 3,234 people with impaired glucose tolerance--a condition that often proceeds diabetes. Metformin, often used to treat diabetes, is currently not used for prevention.

Forty-five percent of the participants were from minority groups that suffer disproportionately from type 2 diabetes: African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Americans, Pacific Islanders and American Indians. Also included in the study were people 60 and older, women with a history of gestational diabetes and people with a first-degree relative with type 2 diabetes. Participants ranged in age from 25 to 85, with an average age of 51, and were overweight.

The participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The first underwent intensive lifestyle changes with the aim of reducing their weight by 7 percent through a low-fat diet and exercising for 30 minutes a day. The second group received metformin (850 mg twice a day). The control group took placebos in place of metformin. The metformin and placebo groups received information on diet and exercise, but were not instructed to follow a regimen.

About 29 percent of the DPP control group developed diabetes during the average follow-up period of three years. Fourteen percent of the diet and exercise group and 22 percent of the metformin group developed diabetes. Volunteers in the diet and exercise group achieved, on average, a 7 percent or 15 pound weight loss in the first year and sustained a 5 percent total loss during the study. Participants in the lifestyle intervention group received training in diet, exercise and behavior modification skills.

"The more you can delay the onset of type 2 diabetes, the better," said Saudek. "It's encouraging to think that you can prevent the onset for up to three years."

The study was funded in part by Bristol Myers Squibb (which markets Glucophage), Merck and Co., Merck-Medco and Hoechst Marion Roussell, and a number of health organizations that fund the DPP.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group