Do you want to reduce your risk of diabetes? Well, findings from a randomized controlled trial suggest that adults with prediabetes who embrace a fully automated diabetes coaching program for 6 months showed better physical activity and improved dietary variables compared to a control group.
The entire Alive-PD program is compatible with mobiles and tablets and requires no staff administrative time.
Gladys Block, PhD, and scientific director or Turnaround Health in Berkeley, California said: “This study showed that this email- and web-based intervention helped people to make the eating and physical activity behavior changes that can help prevent progression to diabetes.” She noted that the behavioral changes paralleled the significant impact of the program in lowering HbA1c, fasting glucose, weight, metabolic syndrome and other factors that were reported in an earlier paper.”
Block and her team analyzed data from 339 adults with prediabetes. The average age of the participants was 55 years; 69 percent were men and 68.1 percent were diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. One group of 163 adults were indiscriminately assigned, straight away to begin the Alive-PD program, a 1-year intervention designed to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes. The second group of 176 began the program after 6 months. Within the study 95 percent had prediabetes that was confirmed by fasting glucose measurement; while 45 percent had prediabetes confirmed by HbA1c.
The entire Alive-PD program is compatible with mobiles and tablets and requires no staff administrative time. A smartphone app allows particpants to focus and report on goals and can be programmed to remind users of particular goals, such as taking a walk. As well, a tailored newsletter designed to help participants achieve improved health and diminish their diabetes symptoms.
“Changes in eating and activity behaviors are what we hope for, both in diabetes prevention and diabetes management,” Block said. “Such changes are not always achieved, yet are key for long-term effectiveness. This program adds a tool that can help.”
Block noted that a small number of individuals in the trial who were in the diabetic range by fasting glucose all reduced their fasting glucose to either the pre-diabetic or the normal range.
“We would like to be able to test the program in a population with type 2 diabetes, to support the efforts of diabetes educators and endocrinologists to help patients improve their eating and activity behaviors,” she said.
