While there’s no cure, type 2 diabetes can often be managed and in some cases reversed through lifestyle changes. Type 2 diabetes can also be prevented, because unlike type 1 diabetes which can’t yet be prevented, your body is still making the hormone insulin. It is the insulin which helps manage blood sugar levels.
Research has consistently shown that for some people, combined lifestyle interventions – including diet, physical activity and sustained weight loss – can be effective in reducing the risk of Type 2 diabetes by up to 50%.
Pre-diabetes
Many people have blood sugar levels above the normal range, but not high enough to be diagnosed as having diabetes. This is known as non-diabetic hyperglycaemia, or pre-diabetes. People with non-diabetic hyperglycaemia are at greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, but the risk can be reduced through lifestyle changes.
The good news
If you’ve been told you have prediabetes, this is a warning sign that you are at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. The good news is you don’t have it yet, and with the right support up to 50% of cases of Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed.
Taking action
You can find out the level of your own risk of Type 2 diabetes and what to do to lower it by putting information into the Diabetes UK free Know Your Risk of type 2 diabetes tool and getting the results.
It’s free and only takes two or three minutes. You’ll need to know your height, weight and waist measurement.
Some factors put you at increased risk of Type 2 diabetes that you can’t change, such as your age and ethnicity or medical history. However, the three main things to prevent Type 2 diabetes are:
- Eating well
- Moving more
- Losing weight
Eating Well
Here are Diabetes UK’s top tips for healthier food choices, that you can make to reduce your risk of Type 2 diabetes. You can read more about each one of these tips here
- Choose drinks without added sugar
- Choose higher fibre carbs
- Cut down on red and processed meat
- Eat plenty of fruit and veg
- Choose unsweetened yogurt and cheese
- Be sensible with alcohol
- Choose healthier snacks
- Include healthier fats in your diet
- Cut down on salt
- Getting vitamins and minerals from food instead of tablets
Exercise for Diabetes
Being physically active is good for diabetes whatever type you have. This also includes people with prediabetes. Whether you feel able to go for a run or a swim or can manage some arm stretches or on-the-spot walking while the kettle boils, it all makes a difference.
Click HERE to find out more about the benefits of exercise, the best exercise for diabetes, ideas for keeping active at home and when out and about.
Losing Weight
Getting to an ideal, healthy weight is easier said than done. But when you have diabetes, there are huge benefits to losing weight if you’re carrying extra weight. You’ll have more energy and you’ll reduce your risk of serious complications like heart disease and stroke. Losing weight can help with your diabetes control too. If you have Type 2 diabetes, losing weight could even mean going into diabetes remission.
This two minute video from Diabetes UK explains how losing weight is the best way to put Type 2 diabetes into remission – watch it HERE
Click HERE to find Diabetes UK’s following advice:
- What are the benefits of losing extra weight?
- What’s a healthy weight to aim for?
- Diabetes diet plans to help you lose weight, including your weight-loss planner
- Can diabetes cause weight gain?
- Your feelings about food
- Being active to help with weight loss
- Weight loss surgery
Other Useful Resources
For lots more information about diabetes, including symptoms, management, and support, please visit the following resources: