Lifestyle advice for diabetics 'no different' from that of general public

A new study has suggested that lifestyle advice for people suffering from diabetes should not be different from that given to the general public, although those having diabetes may benefit more from the same advice.

In this new study, Dr Diewertje Sluik, Department of Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Nuthetal, Germany, and colleagues investigated whether the associations between lifestyle factors and mortality risk differ between individuals with and without diabetes.

Computer modelling was used to explore the relationship (in both those with and without diabetes) of mortality with the following risk factors: body-mass index, waist/height ratio, 26 food groups, alcohol consumption, leisure-time physical activity, smoking.

Unsurprisingly, the researchers found that overall mortality was 62 percent higher in people with diabetes compared with those without. Intake of fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, pasta, poultry and vegetable oil was related to a lower mortality risk, and intake of butter and margarine was related to an increased mortality risk.

While the strength of the association was different in those with diabetes versus those without, the associations were in the same direction in each case (see table 2 full paper).

No differences between people with and without diabetes were detected for the other lifestyle factors including adiposity, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and smoking.

The new research has been published in Diabetologia.