Prediabetes: Prevention

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Prevention

If you have any of the risk factors for prediabetes, you can take steps to prevent this condition as well as the progression to type 2 diabetes. The best ways to prevent prediabetes are to:

• Manage your weight.
• Eat a healthy diet.
• Get regular exercise.

You can play a key role in controlling your blood sugar levels by:

• Losing weight if you are overweight. Studies have shown that losing just 5% to 10% of your body weight may help you prevent or at least delay type 2 diabetes.¹⁰ A healthy weight helps your body use insulin properly. One recent study showed that losing weight improves insulin resistance in people with prediabetes. The degree of improvement is related to the amount of weight lost.¹¹ For more information on weight and body mass index (BMI), use the Interactive Tool: Is Your Weight Increasing Your Health Risks?
• Limiting fat and eating a balanced diet by limiting carbohydrate throughout the day to avoid sudden peaks in blood sugar and by eating foods low in saturated fat and high in soluble fiber. Talk to your doctor about making a plan for healthy eating.
  • One large study found that men who ate a diet high in vegetables, fish, poultry, and whole grains had a lower risk for getting type 2 diabetes compared with men who ate a diet high in red meat, processed meat, high-fat dairy foods, refined grains, and sweets.¹²
• Exercising. Exercise helps control your blood sugar by using glucose for energy during and after activity. Exercise helps your body respond better to insulin and lowers your risk of getting diabetes. It also helps you maintain a healthy weight; lower high cholesterol; raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good," cholesterol; and lower high blood pressure. These benefits also help prevent cardiovascular disease. If you do not get regular exercise, talk with your doctor about beginning an exercise program. Lack of regular exercise raises the chances that your blood sugar level will increase from normal to prediabetes to type 2 diabetes. Any type of physical activity may be beneficial, including:^{14, 16, 17}
  • Sports or other types of exercise, such as walking, jogging, swimming, or biking.
  • Household work, such as vacuuming or gardening.
  • Work-related activities.

For more information on exercise, see the topic Fitness.

The National Diabetes Education Program's Small Steps Big Rewards program outlines several ways to make minor changes to your lifestyle that can have a big impact on preventing prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. These include setting goals for moderate weight loss and exercise and tracking your progress. For more information about this program, visit the National Diabetes Education Program Web site at www.ndep.nih.gov.

If you smoke cigarettes, talk with a doctor about ways to quit. Smoking may play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes, and it contributes to early development of diabetes complications.¹⁵ For more information, see the topic Quitting Tobacco Use.

Last updated:	August 12, 2008
Author:	Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS
Reviewed By:	Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine, Jennifer Hone, MD - Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman, MATC