Combating the threat of diabetes

People aged between 25 and 70 years and who are overweight are needed for what has been described as the world’s ‘largest’ diabetes prevention study.

To combat the increasing threat of diabetes, set to become the major cause of morbidity and mortality in Australia by 2016, University of Sydney researchers are hoping to enlist the help of 300 volunteers who are at risk of developing diabetes.

Eligibility to participate in the study includes those who are overweight and have a family history, to join participants from eight nations in helping to identify the most effective lifestyle pattern to prevent type 2 diabetes.

Preventing Diabetes in Europe and Worldwide (PREVIEW) will recruit 2,500 pre-diabetic overweight or obese individuals, including children and adolescents, adults, and the elderly, for a threeyear comparison of two different diet and exercise strategies.

The participants will either adopt a high protein, low GI diet or follow conventional healthy diet advice (for example eating more fruit, vegetables and whole grains). They will then be randomly allocated to engage in moderately intense exercise for 150 minutes per week or high intensity exercise for 75 minutes per week.

“We know that weight loss is the key to delaying and preventing diabetes, but we also know that 95% of people who lose weight will regain it,” says Professor Jennie Brand-Miller, from the University’s Charles Perkins Centre, who pioneered the low GI diet incorporated in the trial and will lead PREVIEW in Australia.

“We think that diet composition is the key to long term adherence, specifically a diet that keeps you feeling full. We also think that more intense exercise for a short time is more efficient than exercising at a lower intensity for longer.”

PREVIEW will also conduct largescale population studies, using data from more than 170,000 people around the world to gain unprecedented insights into the impact of lifestyle on the development of diabetes, for example how stress and disturbed sleep might precipitate diabetes even in those who are eating and exercising well.

Australia has a higher prevalence of diabetes than many countries in Europe, especially among ethnic minorities such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people of Asian background.

If you’re aged between 25 and 70 years and are overweight, go to the PREVIEW website to determine your eligibility by answering a short questionnaire.