Researchers have found that a Mediterranean-style diet, combined with reduced caloric intake and moderate physical activity, may reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes by 31 percent.

Type two diabetes, in particular, has become a major public health concern because of the high rate of both diagnosed and undiagnosed cases.

It is often dubbed the ‘silent killer’ because symptoms don’t always appear; the condition is often preventable through lifestyle changes.

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes a high intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats; moderate intake of dairy and lean proteins; and little to no intake of red meat for better health outcomes.

Professor Miguel Martínez-González, a nutrition expert from the University of Navarra and study co-author, said the three lifestyle changes demonstrated a ‘clear and measurable benefit for public health’.

Professor Frank Hu, an expert in nutrition and epidemiology and study co-author, added, ‘We are facing a global epidemic of diabetes.

‘With the highest level of evidence, our study shows that modest, sustained change in diet and lifestyle could prevent millions of cases of this disease worldwide.’

In a new study published in Annals of Internal Medicine, experts found that a Mediterranean-style diet, combined with reduced caloric intake and moderate physical activity, may reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes by 31 percent.

A team of collaborators from the PREDIMED-Plus clinical trial, the largest nutrition and lifestyle randomized trial in Europe, sought to understand how the diet’s benefits might be enhanced with additional healthy lifestyle changes.

The researchers from 23 universities in Spain and Harvard Chan School split 4,746 participants that were aged 55 to 75, were overweight or obese and had metabolic syndrome, and didn’t have Type 2 diabetes into an intervention group and a control group and followed their health outcomes for six years.

The intervention group followed a Mediterranean diet, reduced their caloric intake by about 600 calories per day, engaged in moderate physical activity, such as brisk walking and strength and balance exercises, and received professional support for weight loss control.

The study found those in the intervention group had a 31 percent lower risk of developing Type two diabetes compared to those in the control group. They also lost an average of 3.3 kilograms and reduced their waist circumference by 3.6 centimetres, compared to 0.6 kilograms and 0.3 centimetres in the control group. (Nigerian Tribune)