Diabetes is one of the major issues among the Indian population. This disease is due to the inability of the body to produce the hormone insulin.
It can even be due to the inability of the body to maintain normal standard glucose levels in the body. Apart from the medications a slight modification in the lifestyle can help the patients to tackle diabetes.A study was conducted at the M V Hospital for Diabetes Research Center, Royapuram and was headed by the director of the research center, a well-known diabetologist. It started on March 2001 in chennai metropolitan areas. It showed that there was a 28.5 % reduction in the risk of diabetes if only slight modification in the diet and lifestyle was introduced.
The study participants included were 11,000 men and women from all walks of life. It was also shown that a 26.4 % reduction was possible when a pharmacological agent, metformin was used. This combination of both the drug and the lifestyle alteration were very useful in case of reducing the risk of diabetes.
In the study all the participants were given glucose and after 2 hours their blood sugar levels were measured in a two-step process. Among the 11000 participants only 531 persons were chosen and followed up for the next three years.
This is one of a kind study and also the largest study done in the field of diabetes in South East Asia. In conclusion he said that the risk of diabetes could be effectively reduced by a slight alteration in the lifestyle (exercise, diet) and medication.
