A recent article in the Archives of Internal Medicine discusses five habits to reduce the risk of diabetes. They are an active physical lifestyle, a healthy diet, light or moderate alcohol consumption, not smoking, and avoiding being overweight (waist size under 34.6 inches for women and 36.2 inches for men.) An upcoming article in the Annals of Internal Medicine confirms this and uses a body mass index of 18.5-24.9 as a measure of ideal weight.
(Did You Know? 26 million Americans diagnosed with adult onset diabetes in 2010. Men that follow the five habits reduce their risk by 72% and women by 84%.)
The later study found that having a healthy diet and exercising regularly reduced the risk of diabetes in men 28% and women 29%. Not smoking decreases the risk in both sexes 4%. Moderate alcohol consumption in men (two drinks per day) provides an additional 7% reduction and one drink a day for women reduces diabetes 24%. Lastly, adding the ideal body weight lowers the risk for men 33% more and women 27%.