REDUCTION IN BODY-WEIGHT HELPS TO DELAY THE ONSET OF DIABETES EVEN INNONOBESE WITH STRONG FAMILY HISTORY OF THE DISEASE

Of the 1200 non-diabetic offspring of non-insulin-dependent diabetic p atients registered under the prevention programme, 262 (M:F 189:73) we re available for analysis with greater than or equal to 4 years of fol low-up. All of them had been prescribed a calorie restricted diet to s uit their body weight, occupation and age, and were advised to restric t the use of refined carbohydrates and fats. Regular exercise was also advised. Compliance with these prescriptions was assessed at each fol low up. At the time of analysis, it was noted that only 14.5% had deve loped diabetes in a period of 8 +/- 4.2 years even though many of them had impaired glucose tolerance at entry in the programme. Multiple re gression analysis showed that initial 2 h plasma glucose, initial gluc ose tolerance and gain in body weight were strong predictors of diabet es. Weight loss occurred in persons who adhered to diet and exercise p rogrammes and conversion to diabetes was lower in them compared to tho se who gained weight (P < 0.002). Although the rate and degree of obes ity is less among Indians, it has been observed in several earlier stu dies that even a minor increase in body mass index increased the risk of diabetes. This study highlights the fact that measures to control w eight helps to delay the onset of diabetes even in the non-obese despi te a strong family history of the disorder. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.