Diabetes prevention strategies:
There are three levels of prevention in diabetes control: primary prevention aims to prevent the occurrence of diabetes; secondary prevention aims to prevent the development of complications in diagnosed diabetes patients; and tertiary prevention aims to reduce the progression of existing diabetes complications, lower the disability and mortality rates, and improve the patients’ quality of life.
Here, we mainly introduce how to prevent diabetes.
For high-risk diabetes patients with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), that is, patients who have already experienced glucose abnormalities but have not yet reached the diagnostic criteria for diabetes, many studies have shown that providing intensive lifestyle interventions can significantly delay or prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.
Lifestyle intervention group recommends patients to consume a low-fat diet (fat accounted for <25% of total calories), and if weight loss does not reach the standard, total calorie restriction is implemented. In the lifestyle intervention group, 50% of patients lost 7% of their weight, and 74% of patients could persist with at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. Lifestyle intervention for 3 years could reduce the risk of IGT patients progressing to diabetes by 58%.
Therefore, it is recommended that IGT patients reduce the risk of diabetes through diet control and exercise, and regularly follow up to ensure compliance. Regular blood sugar checks are performed, and cardiovascular disease risk factors (such as smoking, hypertension, and lipid disorders) are closely monitored and appropriately treated.
