A low-calorie Mediterranean diet with physical activity reduces the risk of diabetes. Concludes a study published this Thursday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, which analyzed thousands of people across Spain for six years.
Type 2 diabetes, a chronic disease that seriously impairs health and quality of life, has significantly increased its incidence in recent years, in parallel with obesity. Therefore, it is essential to promote accessible and sustainable strategies focused on prevention.
The PREDIMED in the Spanish acronym (PREvention con MEDiterranean DIet) study. Which has been active for more than two decades, had already shown that a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra virgin olive oil or nuts reduced the incidence of diabetes by 30 percent compared to a low-fat diet. However, this reduction was observed with a barely perceptible decrease in body weight.
Based on this knowledge, the project proposed a more intensive lifestyle intervention to evaluate whether it could provide additional benefits. This strategy is based on weight loss through a slightly hypocaloric Mediterranean diet—rich in fiber and with a low glycemic index—combined with the promotion of physical activity and behavioral support.
The study included 4,746 participants between the ages of 55 and 75 who were overweight or obese with metabolic syndrome and who did not have cardiovascular disease or diabetes at baseline.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of two programs: one focused on following the Mediterranean diet (without promoting physical activity or pursuing calorie reduction), and another behavioral program focused on achieving weight loss through a reduced-calorie Mediterranean diet (with a planned reduction of 600 kilocalories per day) and increased physical activity.
The new strategy reduced new cases of diabetes by 31 percent compared to the Mediterranean diet without calorie restriction or exercise recommendations.
After six years of follow-up, participants without diabetes at baseline assigned to the intensive intervention group (Mediterranean diet and physical activity) showed greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet, increased their physical activity, lost more weight, and required fewer medications to control their glucose levels during follow-up after being diagnosed with diabetes.
Furthermore, the absolute risk of developing diabetes was 12 percent (349 cases) in participants who followed only the Mediterranean diet, compared to 9.5 percent (280 cases) in those assigned to the intensive intervention. This latter strategy reduced new cases of diabetes by 31 percent compared to the Mediterranean diet without calorie restriction or exercise recommendations.
The research team concludes that the foods and nutrients that make up the Mediterranean diet “act synergistically through different mechanisms involved in type 2 diabetes. Such as reducing insulin resistance, inflammation, and oxidative stress.
These effects are enhanced by physical activity and weight loss. Furthermore, as it is a tasty, sustainable, and culturally accepted diet. It may become an ideal long-term strategy for the prevention of cardiometabolic diseases, the authors add.
With information from Prensa Latina
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