Adding Exercise to Diet in Early Type 2 Diabetes

International consensus guidelines recommend that initial treatment of patients with diabetes include dietary management and increased exercise, but few studies have addressed long-term benefits of these interventions in early type 2 diabetes.

U.K. researchers randomized 593 adults with recently diagnosed diabetes to usual care (standard advice on diet and exercise every 6 months), an intensive diet intervention (goal-oriented motivational dietary consultation every 3 months with monthly nurse support), or an intensive diet intervention plus an exercise intervention (30 minutes of brisk pedometer-monitored walking 5 times weekly). Medications were adjusted by doctors who were blinded to study allocation.

After 12 months, mean glycosylated hem…