Ted,
Maybe I gave these guys too little credit. Here is something from their web site: cdc.gov
Impaired glucose tolerance and impaired fasting glucose
-Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) are considered to be prediabetic conditions, and studies suggest that they may be reversible. [jh: Gee, whatever you do to reverse this stage, how about doing it in the first place so that you get to this early diabetes stage and prevent diabetes completely?]
-IGT is a condition in which the blood sugar level is elevated (between 140 and 199 milligrams per deciliter or mg/dL after a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test), but is not high enough to be classified as diabetes.
-IFG is a condition in which the fasting blood sugar level is elevated (between 110 and 125 mg/dL after an overnight fast) but is not high enough to be classified as diabetes.
-Among U.S. adults 40-74 years of age, 16.0 million (15.6%) have IGT and 10.0 million (9.7%) have IFG.
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Preventing diabetes
Research studies in the United States and abroad have found that lifestyle changes can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes among high-risk adults. [jh: If it can work to prevent it for risk adults, the same should work for everyone else]. These studies included people with IGT and other high-risk characteristics for developing diabetes. Lifestyle interventions included diet and moderate-intensity physical activity (such as walking for 2 1/2 hours each week). [jh: what does exercise do? It burns blood sugar stored in the muscles, so that next time you eat carbohydrates (=sugar), the sugar has a place to go. How about not ingesting excessive quantities of carbohydrates such as refined sugar and grain in the first place?] For both sexes and all age and racial and ethnic groups, the development of diabetes was reduced 40% to 60% during these studies that lasted 3 to 6 years.
Joe |
