Energy balance
An intensive lifestyle intervention (ILS) focused on weight loss and increased physical activity reduces the incidence of type 2 diabetes by 58% compared to placebo in high-risk adults with prediabetes, with effects sustained over 21 years.
To significantly lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, focus on losing 7% of your body weight and getting at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. This lifestyle approach is proven to be more effective than medication (metformin) for preventing diabetes in high-risk individuals, with benefits lasting for decades.
After a mean of 2.8 years... the lifestyle intervention had reduced body weight by ~4 kg and diabetes development by 58%.
Why this rating
Large-scale, multi-center, randomized controlled trial (RCT) with long-term follow-up.
Source
The Diabetes Prevention Program and Its Outcomes Study: NIDDK’s Journey Into the Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes and Its Public Health Impact
Jill P. Crandall et al. · Diabetes Care · 2025
DOI 10.2337/dc25-0014
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- Metformin (850 mg twice daily) reduces the incidence of type 2 diabetes by 31% compared to placebo in high-risk adults, with greater efficacy in individuals with a BMI >= 35 kg/m2 and fasting glucose 110–125 mg/dL.Strong
- Prevention or delay of type 2 diabetes through intensive lifestyle intervention or metformin is associated with a lower prevalence of microvascular complications (retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy) compared to those who progress to diabetes.Good
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