How can I manage prediabetes and prevent diabetes?
Three out of five cases of type 2 diabetes can be prevented.
Being at risk doesn’t mean you will definitely develop type 2 diabetes. Now is a great time to start making healthy changes to your lifestyle to reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes.
Manage your weight
If you are carrying extra weight and at high risk of type 2 diabetes, losing just 5% of your body weight can significantly reduce your risk. There are lots of ways you can lose weight and it’s about finding what works best for you. Making healthier food choices and being more active are both positive ways to start making these changes. If you need help with managing your weight, a dietitian can help you.
Eat a healthy, balanced diet
Whilst there is no specific ‘prediabetes diet’, the food and drink we have in our overall diet is linked to our risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
For example, your risk increases if your diet is made up of food and drinks with high fat, high GI (short for glycaemic index) and low fibre. But the good news is that by changing some of your food and drink choices, you can reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes.
To reduce the risk, aim for the following
- Aim to eat more of the foods linked with a decreased risk, like fruit and veg, wholegrains.
- Aim to have unsweetened tea or coffee or change to artificial sweeteners.
- cut down on red and processed meat,
- Reduce the consumption of refined carbohydrates such as white bread, cakes, cookies, sugar sweetened drinks and potatoes (particularly French fries).
Be more active
If you spend a lot of time sitting down, this is known as a sedentary lifestyle. Being sedentary is linked with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
So being active in your daily life can help to reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes. This doesn’t mean you need to take up a new sport or join the gym. You could make small changes so that you are being more active every day. Think about taking phone calls standing up, using stairs instead of the lift, and going for a walk on your lunch break.
Further advice about lifestyle changes and weight loss can be found here:
- Healthy Weight Grampian
- Healthy Weight Grampian NHS Grampian Services
- NHS Choices – including a 12 week weight loss planner, links to a free calorie counter
Speak to someone 1 to 1 about Prediabetes try
- Healthpoint is a walk in service which offers free advice or information on many aspects of health including diabetes and other long term conditions
- Healthline (08085 202030) is the telephone service for Healthpoint so advice can be given over the phone as well as in person.