A groundbreaking study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology reveals that intensive lifestyle changes—including exercise and a healthy diet—are more effective than metformin in preventing Type 2 diabetes over 20 years. The research, led by Vallabh “Raj” Shah, professor emeritus at the University of New Mexico, highlights the enduring benefits of lifestyle interventions for at-risk individuals.
The study is a follow-up to the U.S. Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), a large clinical trial launched in 1996 involving 3,234 patients with prediabetes. Initially, the lifestyle intervention reduced diabetes onset by 58% within three years, compared to 31% for metformin. The new findings show that these benefits persisted decades later, with lifestyle modifications delaying diabetes by 3.5 years and metformin by 2.5 years compared to a placebo group.
Dr. Shah emphasized the significance of the results: “The data suggests that those who avoided diabetes early on continued to do so even after 22 years.” The study also repurposed the DPP into the DPP Outcomes Study (DPPOS), enabling long-term tracking of health outcomes, including aging-related diseases like cancer and dementia.
“Within three years, they had to stop the study because lifestyle was better than metformin,” said Shah. “That means lifestyle, which everybody is banking on, is more effective—that is the news.”
The research underscores the long-term effectiveness of lifestyle changes in diabetes prevention, offering a sustainable alternative to medication. Future studies will explore broader health impacts, including aging-related conditions, leveraging the extensive DPPOS cohort.
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