Lifestyle choices and diabetes risk later in life

There are 5 choices that make a difference, according to this report by the Cardiovascular Health Study group.

First, the details.

• 4883 adults 65 years or older were monitored for 10 years.
• Their lifestyle choices later in life were compared to their risk of diabetes mellitus.
• Low-risk lifestyle included the following factors
  • Physical activity
    • Higher than the median: exercise more than half of the people in your age group
    • Leisure-time activity and walking pace
  • Dietary score
    • Higher fiber intake
    • Higher polyunsaturated to saturated fat ratio
    • Lower trans-fat intake
    • Lower glycemic index: ranking food by the speed it’s converted from carbohydrates to sugar
  • Smoking
    • Never smoked
    • Former smoker more than 20 years ago or for fewer than 5 pack-years
  • Alcohol use
  • Obesity
    • Body mass index (BMI) less than 25
    • Waist circumference: 88 cm (34.6 inches) for women, 92 cm (36.2 inches) for men
• Diabetes was defined as the new use of insulin or oral hypoglycemic drugs.

And, the results.

• 337 people were diagnosed with diabetes requiring drug treatment.
• Each lifestyle factor was independently associated with a higher risk of diabetes
• People cut their risk of diabetes by half when they were physically active and had good dietary habits.
• Adding no smoking, and healthy alcohol habits lowered this risk 82%.
• The absence of obesity (healthy waist circumference and BMI) lowered this risk another 7%.

The bottom line?
When elderly people follow healthy lifestyle choices as defined in this study, they could lower the risk of being diagnosed with diabetes by about 90%.

Here are the 5 life choices for older people that will increase or decrease their risk for diabetes later in life.

• Physical activity
• Diet
• Smoking
• Alcohol use
• Obesity

And, there’s no need to take drugs or CAM to achieve the benefits.

4/28/09 09:44 JR