Research

Adherence

An intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) targeting weight loss and physical activity significantly improves and maintains self-reported physical functioning in older adults with type 2 diabetes compared to standard education, effectively buffering the age-related decline in function.

For older adults with Type 2 Diabetes, committing to an intensive lifestyle program (diet + >175 mins/week walking) for the first year yields significant, lasting improvements in physical function. Even if weight is regained in subsequent years, the functional benefits (mobility, independence) established in the first year tend to persist, effectively 'buying back' years of functional youth compared to those receiving standard education.

WeakSupportsVERY_HIGH confidence
ILI resulted in improved PF compared with DSE after 1 year (p < .0001) and was maintained across time. Within the ILI, older adults experienced greater improvements than younger adults (p < .0001)... ILI slowed the decline in PF with type 2 diabetes mellitus despite weight regain, an effect that was stronger for older than younger participants
W. Jack Rejeski et al. · The Journals of Gerontology Series A · 2014

Why this rating

Large multicenter randomized controlled trial (n=5,145) with 8-year follow-up.

Source

Aging and Physical Function in Type 2 Diabetes: 8 Years of an Intensive Lifestyle Intervention

W. Jack Rejeski et al. · The Journals of Gerontology Series A · 2014

DOI 10.1093/gerona/glu083

rct · n=5145Cited 56×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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