What are 5 ways to prevent diabetes?
If you are at risk for diabetes, you may be able to prevent or delay getting it. Most of the things that you need to do involve having a healthier lifestyle – see below.
So if you make these changes, you will get other health benefits as well. You will lower your risk of other diseases (e.g. chronic kidney disease (CKD) and high blood pressure), and you will probably feel better and have more energy.
So. What are 5 ways to prevent diabetes?
1. Losing weight and keeping it off. Weight control is an important part of diabetes prevention. You may be able to prevent or delay diabetes by losing 5 to 10% of your current weight. And once you lose the weight, it is important that you don’t gain it back.
2. Following a healthy diet. It is important to reduce the amount of calories you eat and drink each day, so you can lose weight and keep it off. To do that, your diet should include smaller portions and less fat and sugar.
You should also eat a variety of foods from each food group, including plenty of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
3. Take regular exercise. Exercise has many health benefits, including helping you to lose weight and lower your blood sugar levels. These both lower your risk of type 2 diabetes.
Try to do physical activity 5 days a week. If you have not been active, talk with your doctor to figure out which types of exercise are best for you.
You can start slowly and work up to your goal. A long walk 3 days a week is a good start.
4. Don’t smoke. Smoking can contribute to insulin resistance, which can lead to type 2 diabetes. If you already smoke, try to quit.
5. Talk to your doctor – to see whether there is anything else you can do to delay or to prevent type 2 diabetes. If you are at high risk (or have prediabetes), they may suggest that you take one of a few types of diabetes medicines (e.g. an SGLT2i like dapagliflozin) before you need it.
Recognising you are at risk
Before you can do the above, its important to recognise you are at risk.
Especially symptoms of Type 2 diabetes are hard to spot, it is important to know the risk factors. These include being overweight/obese, Black/Asian/Oriental or having a family history of diabetes. If you have one or more of these you should try to prevent the disease.
Summary
We have described what are 5 ways to prevent diabetes. We hope it has been helpful.
Other resources
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Last Reviewed on 3 April 2024