Khaberni - A recent study revealed that adopting a healthy lifestyle can help reduce the risk of chronic diseases in the long term, going beyond its role in preventing diabetes only.
The study was based on data from the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) and the long-term follow-up study (DPPOS), which monitored thousands of participants for over 20 years, aiming to understand the impact of lifestyle changes on overall health.
The analyses included 1,173 individuals with prediabetes, who were divided into three groups: the first received a placebo, the second took the drug metformin, while the third followed a program based on a healthy diet and physical activity aimed at reducing weight by no less than 7%.
During the follow-up years, the results showed that the group committed to lifestyle change was less prone to develop multiple chronic diseases such as heart failure, dementia, and others, compared to the other two groups. The risk of multiple diseases in this group decreased by 21%.
The evaluated diseases included 15 chronic conditions, among them high blood pressure, heart diseases, strokes, kidney diseases, asthma, cancer, dementia, depression, and osteoporosis.
The researchers confirmed that these results remained valid even after excluding diabetes from the analysis, and after adjusting factors such as age, sex, weight, and lifestyle; reinforcing the strong association between a healthy lifestyle and reduced risk of diseases.
Co-researchers stated that improving diet, increasing physical activity, and managing weight can contribute to delaying or preventing the accumulation of chronic diseases as one ages, especially among those more susceptible to diabetes.
Although the study does not prove a direct causal relationship, it indicates a strong link between a healthy lifestyle and improved health outcomes in the long term, at a time when data showed that the majority of participants developed at least two chronic diseases as they aged.
The study underlines the importance of enhancing prevention, with growing global interest in healthy aging and reducing the burden of chronic diseases on healthcare systems.
