Lifestyle and diabetes risk – the latest evidence

There's nothing new in the idea that lifestyle plays a part in the development of type 2 diabetes (or adult-onset diabetes). Much evidence suggests that diet, body weight, smoking, alcohol and exercise (or, rather, the lack of it) are all linked to an increase in risk for the disease.

But a new medical study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine gives some clues as to the extent of the problem. If you have an overall healthy lifestyle – meaning you eat a healthy diet, you do plenty of exercise, you don't smoke, you don't drink too excess and your weight is normal – then you are 80 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than someone who has an overall unhealthy lifestyle.

Looking at information about the volunteers' lifestyles, the researchers concluded that the more healthy habits you have, the least likely you are to become a diabetic. So basically it's not enough to be healthy in just one or two areas, if you want to avoid diabetes, you've got to go the whole hog where your lifestyle is concerned.

However, diet is a good place to start. Earlier this year, Diabetes UK published its nutrition guidelines for the prevention and management of diabetes. Here are a few tips about which foods help protect against the disease – some of which may well surprise you:

• Whole grains have a protective effect, with an average of 3.2 servings a day associated with a risk reduction of 31 percent.
• Dairy products are protective too, with each serving per day increase associated with a risk reduction of nine percent in men and four percent in women.
• Just over one serving of green leafy vegetables reduce your risk of diabetes by 14 percent.
• Four or more cups of coffee may reduce your risk of diabetes by 47 percent, while up to three units of alcohol a day is associated with a 58 percent risk reduction.
• Your risk increases, however by 26 percent with each serving increase of red meat you eat, with processed meat increasing risk the most. And if you're a lover of fried potatoes, just two weekly servings increases your diabetes risk by 16 percent.

To find out if you could be affected by type 2 diabetes, ask your pharmacist about diabetes screening services.