
Regular, early lifestyle changes key to reducing type 2 diabetes & cardiovascular disease
Regular and early lifestyle changes key to reducing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in young South Asians, study suggests
Regular and early one-to-one educational sessions on healthy diet and lifestyle could reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in young South Asians, a new research published today in BMC Medicine suggests.
Unlike previous studies which have focussed on high risk older people, researchers from King's College London and the Diabetes Association of Sri Lanka looked at almost 4000 people aged between 5 and 40. The results suggest regular and realistic interventions with high risk younger people - especially if done before 18- may be more successful, and cost-effective than less-intensive and irregular sessions.
Asia is a major site of Type 2 diabetes, accounting for 60 per cent of people with the disease worldwide. South Asians are predisposed to develop the disease early on, with a third of future cases predicted to occur in those aged below 45 years old.
Participants in the study from Colombo, Sri Lanka had been screened out of a total of 23,298 people, and identified as being at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and CVD, but not yet diagnosed. Out of the 4672 participants aged between five and 40 who began the study, 3539 were eligible for analysis after three years.
Participants were randomised into two groups; pragmatic lifestyle modification (P-LSM) programme and control lifestyle modification programme (C-LSM). There were no significant differences in age, gender, clinical or biochemical char
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