AILSA CHANG, HOST:
There is encouraging news for the roughly 115 million adults in the U.S. with prediabetes. Taking small steps to change your everyday habits, like tweaks to your diet and prioritizing movement, can help prevent both Type 2 diabetes and multiple chronic diseases, including heart disease. NPR's Allison Aubrey joins us now to talk about new research published this week in the medical journal JAMA. Hi, Allison.
ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE: Hi. Great to be here.
CHANG: Great to have you. OK, so tell us more about what this new research shows.
AUBREY: Sure. This is a fascinating study, Ailsa. It's a follow-up to research that began two decades ago. Back then, several thousand participants with prediabetes and those at high risk - they were in their early 50s at the time - started a lifestyle program. They began to exercise about a half hour a day. They made changes to their diets. And this landmark diabetes prevention program showed these changes were actually enough to fend off diabetes more effectively than taking medication.
CHANG: Wow.
AUBREY: And now the participants are in their 70s and are still benefiting from these lifestyle changes. In this new study, scientists have documented up to a 43% reduction in the risk of developing two or more serious chronic conditions such as kidney disease, heart failure and COPD.
CHANG: Wait. So talk more about, like, what kinds of changes people made in this study. Like, were these bold changes in diet or exercise or just, like, tiny little modest tweaks?
AUBREY: Yeah. You know, I think when people hear about lifestyle changes, they imagine these extreme shifts.
CHANG: Yeah.
AUBREY: But nobody in this study, Ailsa, was asked to run a marathon or become a vegan...
CHANG: (Laughter).
AUBREY: ...Or give up any food entirely. They were counseled to make small, gradual changes. If they were sedentary, they started walking 20 minutes a day. They rode an exercise bike or walked on a treadmill, anything to get that heart rate up for about 150 minutes per week. I spoke to one participant who made simple swaps in his diet. He cut back on saturated fat. So instead of eating hamburgers multiple times a week, he'd have one. He cut back on sugary drinks and he started walking more when he played golf.
CHANG: (Laughter).
AUBREY: He told me he didn't feel like he was depriving himself. And the author of the study, Dr. Marcel Salive of the National Institute on Aging, told me these results are really impressive.
MARCEL SALIVE: I think it's very surprising to people that a modest amount of exercise and dietary changes done consistently and maintained over many years can lead to these kinds of benefits.
AUBREY: Even he was surprised, Ailsa, by the extent to which healthier habits can help prevent these diseases.
CHANG: Yeah. This is really assuring. So, wait, as you mentioned, the participants in this study are now in their 70s. And I'm...
AUBREY: Yes.
CHANG: ...So curious. Like, what has changed about the way these conditions are treated - or prevented - today compared to the early 2000s when this study began?
AUBREY: The big change is the introduction of GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, which have been a big game changer. These drugs are effective at helping people lose weight and reduce A1C. But lifestyle is still very important. Lifestyle is a cornerstone to thrive as we age.
CHANG: That is NPR's Allison Aubrey. Thank you so much, Allison.
AUBREY: Thank you, Ailsa. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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