A Pedometer Can Reduce Your Chance of Developing Type 2 Diabetes

Fri, 08 Jan 2010
Using a pedometer as part of a structured education programme can lower the likelihood of getting Type 2 diabetes by 50 per cent for those who are at risk of developing this condition, so brand new Diabetes UK-funded research stated today.

98 people with prediabetes, a precursor to Type 2 diabetes whereby your blood glucose (sugar) levels rise, participated in a study to assess the effectiveness of the Prediabetes Risk Education and Physical Activity Recommendation and Encouragement (PREPARE) programme and see whether or not the use of a pedometer enables individuals to sustain increased fitness levels.

PREPARE is a 3 hour group education session about prediabetes and the role of a healthy lifestyle in preventing Type 2 diabetes.

One group did not have a pedometer and one group did; the latter had to achieve a minimum of 30 minutes of walking every day. Each group was followed up after 3, 6 and 12 months.

Blood glucose levels of the pedometer group went down by 15 per cent after 12 months compared to the control group.

This reduction is the greatest reported after just a year in the most successful European and American studies of this type. Longer term, PREPARE researchers forecast the risk of diabetes would be reduced by around 60%.

Prediabetes is a condition that affects around 7 million people in the UK and places you at fifteen times more risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Reducing the likelihood of prediabetes aims at stopping the Type 2 diabetes epidemic and preventing millions of people developing serious complications related to this condition like, stroke, heart disease, blindness, and amputation .

These impressive study results have been recognised and this programme is being implemented in Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England and Ireland. Longer-term evaluation of the impact continues both in these PCTs and for the original study participants

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