Delaying diabetes may yield long-term health benefits

If you have prediabetes, making positive diet and exercise changes that delay the onset of diabetes “for just four years” can reduce your long-term risk of diabetes-related health problems and death, researchers say.

Prediabetes occurs when a person’s blood sugar levels, or glucose, are higher than normal but don’t warrant a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes.

A team from China analyzed the health of 540 people with diabetes over more than 30 years. The patients were assigned to either a control group or lifestyle intervention group. The latter group either ate healthier, exercised more or both.

The researchers found that delaying diabetes for at least four years after a prediabetes diagnosis resulted in a significantly lower risk of death and experiencing a cardiovascular event such as heart attack, stroke or heart failure.

“Overall, the analysis suggests that the longer a prediabetic person can delay developing diabetes, the better their long-term health outcomes will be,” the researchers said. “However, even just a few years of maintaining prediabetic status can yield benefits for years to come.”

The study was published in the journal PLOS One.