Type 2 diabetes is one of the fastest growing chronic diseases worldwide primarily due to sedentary lifestyle and increasing obesity. The main aim of the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study (DPS) was to assess whether the onset of type 2 diabetes can be prevented by lifestyle intervention in high-risk individuals.
The DPS is a multicenter study conducted by National Public Health Institute, University of Kuopio, Social Insurance Institution, Finnish Diabetes Association, Tampere Institute of Nursing and Health Care, University of Oulu, and Oulu Deaconess Institute. The chief investigators were Professor Jaakko Tuomilehto for KTL and Professor Matti Uusitupa from Kuopio University.
A total of 522 middle-aged, overweight men and women with impaired glucose tolerance were randomised into either intensive lifestyle intervention or control group. The subjects in the intervention group receivec individual advice to reduce weight, intake of energy and total and saturated fat and to increase fibre intake and physical activity. The control group also received general health behaviour advice at randomisation.
The risk of diabetes was reduced by 58% in the intervention group during the entire trial. After 1 and 3 years, weight reductions were 4.5 and 3.5 kg in the intervention group and 1.0 kg and 0.9 kg in the control group. The results show that it is possible to change behaviour and produce favourable changes in weight and in metabolic variables with a lifestyle intervention.
Contact person Jaana Lindström