Few diabetics stick to exercise, diet plans

By April Clarkson, | Health | 0 Comments

While losing weight, exercising and quitting smoking can lower rates and improve symptoms in patients with type 2 diabetes, most patients fail to sustain such health-promoting behaviors long enough to see results, a study reports.

Further, many diabetics do not even initiate attempts to improve health, researchers found.

In type 2 diabetes, the body does not respond normally to insulin, a hormone that deposits glucose (sugar) from food into cells throughout the body. As a result, levels of glucose in the blood rise, putting patients at risk for heart disease, kidney disease and nerve damage.

Obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes. Indeed, about 88% of patients are overweight or obese, the study notes. “Given the devastating effects of diabetes complications, one might expect that those diagnosed with this disease would be motivated to make greater efforts than the general population to control their weight, to improve eating habits, and to increase their level of physical activity,” write researchers from the Indiana University Center for Aging Research in Indianapolis.

Even a modest weight loss-5% to 10% of body weight-can improve symptoms, the authors note. But according to the study, many people with type 2 diabetes do not attempt to lose weight. And among those who initiated weight-loss measures, many quit within 4 years. Investigators reviewed data from the Health and Retirement Study, a national survey of health behaviors. Their review included 733 people between 50-62 years with type 2 diabetes. About 86% of diabetics were overweight or obese.

At the beginning of the study about 80% of people said they were on a diet to control their blood sugar, and more than half said they were trying to lose weight. Women reported these behaviors more often than men, researchers note. Two thirds of diabetics exercised and more than three quarters said they did not smoke when the study began. Men were more likely to smoke than women. Over time, many people abandoned healthy behaviors. For example, nearly a third of those who were on a special diet at the outset had quit, although some who were not on a diet initially had begun one at follow-up.

About 44% of those who were trying to lose weight when the study began had abandoned their efforts. The authors note these individuals gained weight over time while those who sustained weight loss efforts lost weight. Further, more individuals who exercised at the outset had quit than were continuing to exercise after 4 years, investigators found.

The authors call for future studies to investigate what motivates people to maintain healthy lifestyle habits. “A better understanding of factors contributing to a person’s decision to begin or discontinue health-promoting behaviors is needed to plan effective supportive or preemptive interventions,” they conclude.