Can Type 2 Diabetes Be Prevented?

Type 2 diabetes can often be prevented or delayed, and the requirements are more modest and more specific than most advice suggests.

National guidance puts it in two numbers: lose 5 to 7% of your starting weight, and get at least 30 minutes of physical activity 5 days a week. For someone weighing 80 kg, that first figure is 4 to 5.6 kg — not a transformation.

The weight target is deliberately small because it is the one people actually reach and hold. Aiming for 20 kg and stopping after a month achieves less than losing 5 kg and keeping it off.

What to change, in order

1. Move most days. Thirty minutes, five days a week. Walking counts.
2. Fix the ratio on the plate before worrying about specific foods — India's guidelines suggest 400 g of vegetables a day against 250 g of cereals, which is the opposite of most plates.
3. Walk after your largest meal.
4. Protect sleep. Short sleep raises insulin resistance measurably.
5. Get tested if you have family history, rather than waiting for symptoms.

If you have already been told you have prediabetes, start here instead.