Intensive lifestyle reverses glucose abnormalities in youth

(HealthDay)—An intensive lifestyle intervention can reverse early glucose abnormalities in obese youth, according to a study published in the February issue of Diabetes Care.

Mary Savoye, R.D., C.D.E., from Yale University in New Haven, Conn., and colleagues randomized obese adolescents (10 to 16 years old; Tanner stage >2) with elevated oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) two-hour blood glucose (130 to 199 mg/dL) to either the Bright Bodies (BB) Healthy Lifestyle Program, including exercise and nutrition/behavior modification, or standard clinical care (CC). At baseline and at six months, OGTTs as well as cardiovascular and anthropometric assessments were conducted.

The researchers found that BB participants had greater reductions in two-hour glucose compared to CC participants (P = 0.005). Furthermore, there was greater conversion to <130 mg/dL two-hour glucose in the BB group than the CC group (P = 0.003).

"Compared with standard of care, the Yale BB Program is a more effective means of reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes in obese adolescents with elevated two-hour glucose levels," Savoye and colleagues conclude.