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URL: http://www.bsc.gwu.edu/dpp/index.htmlvdoc

Proper Citation: Diabetes Prevention Program (RRID:SCR_001501)

Description: Multicenter clinical research study aimed at discovering whether modest weight loss through dietary changes and increased physical activity or treatment with the oral diabetes drug metformin (Glucophage) could prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes in study participants. At the beginning of the DPP, all 3,234 study participants were overweight and had blood glucose levels higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetesa condition called prediabetes. In addition, 45 percent of the participants were from minority groups-African American, Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, or Pacific Islander-at increased risk of developing diabetes. The DPP found that participants who lost a modest amount of weight through dietary changes and increased physical activity sharply reduced their chances of developing diabetes. Taking metformin also reduced risk, although less dramatically. In the DPP, participants from 27 clinical centers around the United States were randomly divided into different treatment groups. The first group, called the lifestyle intervention group, received intensive training in diet, physical activity, and behavior modification. By eating less fat and fewer calories and exercising for a total of 150 minutes a week, they aimed to lose 7 percent of their body weight and maintain that loss. The second group took 850 mg of metformin twice a day. The third group received placebo pills instead of metformin. The metformin and placebo groups also received information about diet and exercise but no intensive motivational counseling. A fourth group was treated with the drug troglitazone (Rezulin), but this part of the study was discontinued after researchers discovered that troglitazone can cause serious liver damage. The participants in this group were followed but not included as one of the intervention groups. In the years since the DPP was completed, further analyses of DPP data continue to yield important insights into the value of lifestyle changes in helping people prevent type 2 diabetes and associated conditions. For example, one analysis confirmed that DPP participants carrying two copies of a gene variant, or mutation, that significantly increased their risk of developing diabetes benefited from lifestyle changes as much as or more than those without the gene variant. Another analysis found that weight loss was the main predictor of reduced risk for developing diabetes in DPP lifestyle intervention group participants. The authors concluded that diabetes risk reduction efforts should focus on weight loss, which is helped by increased exercise.

Abbreviations: DPP

Resource Type: bibliography, resource, clinical trial, data or information resource

Keywords: prevention, lifestyle, metformin, intervention, dietary change, physical activity, minority, african-american, alaska native, american indian, asian american, hispanic, latino, pacific islander, male, female, slide, adult human, late adult human, dna