Could Big Lifestyle Changes Be Key to Managing Type 2 Diabetes?
Study finds lower blood sugar, reduced need for medication
HealthDay Reporter
The study showed that adding intensive lifestyle management to standard diabetes care (diabetes medication and usual lifestyle change advice) brought blood sugar into a nondiabetic range.
The intensive intervention worked so well that "half of the intervention group did not need glucose-lowering medications to maintain or even improve [blood sugar] control," said the study's senior researcher, Mathias Ried-Larsen.
So, what exactly constitutes an "intensive" intervention?
"Patients were prescribed exercise five to six times per week for 30 to 60 minutes per session. That included both endurance and resistance training," said Ried-Larsen, of Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark.
"In the beginning, the exercise was supervised by a coach, but gradually, they were left on their own. Moreover, they received a dietary program with focus on foods rich in fiber, low in saturated fats, lots of fruit and no processed food. We designed the diet for patients to lose weight," he said.
The study included nearly 100 people from Denmark. All had had type 2 diabetes for less than 10 years, and none had complications from the disease.
The average age of the participants was 55, and nearly half were women. Average A1C level at the start of the study was 6.7 percent. A1C is a blood test that estimates average blood sugar levels over two to three months. An A1C of 6.5 percent or higher indicates diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association.
Study participants were randomly placed into the usual care group or the intensive lifestyle management group.
After a year, the intensive group lost 13 pounds compared to 4 pounds in the standard management group, the findings showed. LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) and triglycerides (another type of bad blood fat) were reduced more in the intensive group than in the standard group. HDL cholesterol (the good kind) rose more in the intensive group than in the standard group, according to the report.