Be sure half your plate is filled with vegetables; make walking a part of your daily routine.

Fill up on veggies to keep diabetes off your plate.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Nine out of 10 cases of diabetes could be prevented by following modestly healthier lifestyles, according to a recent study published in the journal the Archives of Internal Medicine. “We know how to prevent nearly all cases of type 2 diabetes,” says study researcher Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, MPH, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

THE DETAILS: Researchers found that a combination of five lifestyle factors accounted for 9 out of 10 new cases of type 2 diabetes in people ages 65 and older. Those factors are: physical activity, diet, smoking habits, alcohol use, and body fat, which was calculated through body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference readings. They followed 4,883 men and women over a 10-year period as part of the Cardiovascular Health Study. Participants answered questionnaires regarding their health habits, and their BMI and waist size were measured during a physical exam. Based on their responses, they were place in a low- or high-risk group. During the 10-year study, 300 people were diagnosed with diabetes. Researchers found, though, that a person’s chance of developing diabetes was 35 percent lower for each lifestyle factor that was within healthy parameters.

WHAT IT MEANS: Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body fails to properly respond to and produce insulin, which results in a buildup of sugar in the blood and other problems. It affects nearly 24 million Americans, or about 8 percent of the entire population, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Older people are most at risk. While there other, unchangeable risk factors—like genetics—Dr. Mozaffarian says the study’s results show that people can lower their chances of developing diabetes even if they are unable to follow a perfect ideal of healthy behavior. He says very modest differences in lifestyle can have a huge impact on risk, noting that improving any two, three, or four of the five factors, in any combination, will substantially lower one’s risk.