Endocrine Abstracts

The prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is drastically rising globally. It is projected to rise to close to 600 million in 2 decades. This rise parallels the increased prevalence of obesity which is estimated to rise to over 1 billion obese individuals by the year 2025. The association between the Body Mass Index (BMI) and type 2 Diabetes is well recognised. Raised BMI is a major predictor of the risk of T2DM. T2DM is associated with multiple complications and it wields huge negative impact on the economy due to its financial burden. Preventing Type 2 Diabetes, therefore, has become a public health priority. Many published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated that implementing lifestyle measures in terms of dietary modifications and/or increasing the level of physical activity can successfully prevent or delay the onset of T2DM. This integrative review utilises evidence from different randomised trials obtained through a literature search on the database of PubMed and Google Scholar to examine the evidence behind the idea that T2DM is preventable by lifestyle modification. 12 RCTs carried out on individuals with impaired glucose tolerance and reviewed the effect of lifestyle interventions on the onset of type 2 Diabetes were identified and analysed. Most of the studies yielded consistent results in keeping with those of other diabetes prevention trials. There is clear evidence in literature that T2DM can be prevented or its onset delayed by intensive lifestyle changes including dietary measures and increased level of physical activity. There is, however, limited evidence that implementing lifestyle changes might alter the overall macro or microvascular outcome. There is wide variability in the applied lifestyle changes in these trials. Future research should focus on establishing standardised dietary and physical activity recommendations that are tailored to the needs of different ages and ethnic subgroups in the community as per NICE guidance.