Type 2 diabetes affects millions of people around the world, and the number of cases is still going up. The good news is that you can often prevent type 2 diabetes by making changes to your lifestyle, even if you have risk factors like a family history or prediabetes.
This form of diabetes starts when your body stops responding well to insulin, the hormone that helps move sugar from your blood into your cells for energy. When this happens, blood sugar goes up. Over time, high blood sugar can harm your blood vessels, nerves, and organs.
In the early stages, you may not notice any symptoms. You can feel fine even as your blood sugar slowly rises into the prediabetes range. That’s why prevention is so important, especially if you have risk factors.
Knowing which habits help prevent type 2 diabetes lets you take steps before problems start. The tips below are supported by research and have been shown to reduce the risk of diabetes.
Key InsightType 2 diabetes occurs when your cells stop responding well to insulin, causing blood sugar to rise. You can significantly reduce your risk by making changes to your daily habits. Eating more vegetables, whole grains, and fibre helps keep blood sugar steady. Regular exercise, such as walking for 30 minutes most days, also helps your body use insulin more effectively. If you are overweight, losing just 5-7% of your body weight can greatly reduce your risk. Other helpful steps include sitting less, not smoking, drinking alcohol in moderation, and getting your blood sugar checked regularly to catch prediabetes early. These habits work best when you stick with them over time. Research shows that lifestyle changes can lower diabetes risk by up to 58% in people at high risk. |
Who Is at Higher Risk?
Certain factors increase your likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes:
- Having a higher body weight, especially with excess abdominal fat
- Physical inactivity
- Family history of diabetes (parent or sibling)
- Age over 45
- History of gestational diabetes or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
- Prediabetes (blood sugar higher than normal but not yet diabetic)
- High blood pressure or abnormal cholesterol levels
- Ethnicity (higher risk in South Asian, African Caribbean, and other ethnic minority groups)
Having risk factors does not mean you will definitely get diabetes. It just means that taking steps to prevent it is even more important.
1. Eat a Balanced, Fibre-Rich Diet
The foods you eat have a direct effect on your blood sugar and your risk for diabetes. Eating mostly whole foods, plenty of fibre, and a balance of nutrients helps keep your blood sugar steady.
Focus on vegetables, particularly leafy greens, broccoli, peppers, and other non-starchy options. These are low in calories and carbohydrates but high in fibre and nutrients. Aim for at least half your plate to be vegetables at main meals.
Pick whole grains instead of refined carbs. Foods like brown rice, quinoa, oats, and whole wheat bread raise your blood sugar less than white rice, white bread, or sugary cereals. The fibre in whole grains also slows digestion and helps control blood sugar.
Include lean proteins like chicken, fish, beans, lentils, and tofu. Protein helps you feel full and doesn’t spike blood sugar the way carbohydrates do.
Add healthy fats from sources like olive oil, avocados, nuts, and fatty fish. These support overall health and help you feel satisfied after meals.
Try to limit sugary drinks, sweets, and highly processed foods. These can make your blood sugar spike quickly and may lead to weight gain. Even fruit juice, which might seem healthy, has a lot of sugar and lacks the fibre found in whole fruit.
Both the Mediterranean and DASH diets show strong evidence of reducing diabetes risk. These eating patterns emphasize vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats while limiting processed foods and added sugars.
Mediterranean Diet and Diabetes: A Realistic Approach to Blood Sugar Control
2. Exercise Regularly
Being active is one of the best ways to prevent type 2 diabetes. Exercise helps your muscles use sugar for energy and makes your cells respond better to insulin.
Try to get at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week. This could mean walking briskly for 30 minutes five days a week, or breaking it up into shorter 10-minute sessions during the day.
Any movement counts. Walking, cycling, swimming, dancing, gardening, and playing with children all provide benefits. Choose activities you enjoy so you’ll stick with them long-term.
Doing strength training two or three times a week provides additional benefits. Building muscle helps your body handle sugar better. You do not need a gym—exercises like push-ups, squats, and planks work just fine.
Studies show that people who meet physical activity guidelines have about a 30-40% lower risk of diabetes than inactive people. The effect is dose-dependent, meaning more activity generally provides greater protection.
If you are not active right now, start with small steps. Even a 10-minute walk after dinner is a good start. As it gets easier, add a few more minutes each week.
3. Achieve and Maintain a Healthy Weight
Excess weight, particularly around your abdomen, is the strongest modifiable risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Fat stored around organs interferes with insulin function and drives insulin resistance.
The good news is that you do not need to lose a lot of weight to lower your risk of diabetes. Research shows that losing just 5-7% of your body weight can cut your risk by more than half. For example, if you weigh 200 pounds, that is only 10 to 14 pounds.
You lose weight when you eat fewer calories than you use. You do not need to follow extreme diets. Small, steady changes are more effective in the long run than strict restrictions.
Stick with the tips already mentioned: eat more vegetables and whole foods, cut back on processed foods and sugary drinks, and move more. When you eat better and stay active, you often lose weight naturally without having to count every calorie.
If losing weight is hard for you, talk to your doctor. Sometimes health issues like hypothyroidism or PCOS can make it more difficult. Your doctor may suggest medicine or refer you to a dietitian for extra help.
4. Reduce Prolonged Sitting
Sitting for long stretches raises your risk for diabetes, even if you exercise regularly. You can still be at higher risk if you spend most of your day sitting.
Taking breaks from sitting helps. Studies show that standing up or walking for just 2 to 5 minutes every hour can improve blood sugar control. You do not need to do intense exercise—just move around a bit.
Set reminders to stand up and move during the day. Try taking phone calls while standing, walking to a coworker’s desk instead of sending an email, using the stairs when you can, or parking farther away from the entrance. These small changes add up over time.
If you have a desk job, you might want to try a standing desk or a desk converter. Switching between sitting and standing during the day can help. Even standing while you check emails or take calls can make a difference.
5. Quit Smoking
Smoking raises your risk of type 2 diabetes a lot. Chemicals in tobacco, including nicotine, change how your body uses insulin. People who smoke are 30 to 40% more likely to get diabetes than those who do not smoke.
Quitting smoking lowers this risk a lot. After a few years without smoking, your risk of diabetes becomes similar to that of someone who never smoked.
If you smoke, quitting is one of the best things you can do for your health. Ask your doctor about ways to help you quit, such as nicotine replacement, prescription medicines, or counseling programs.
Many people try to quit smoking several times before they succeed. This is normal and does not mean you have failed. Each try helps you learn what works best for you.
6. Limit Alcohol Consumption
Drinking a lot of alcohol raises your risk for diabetes. Alcohol has many calories, which can cause weight gain, and it also changes how your liver handles sugar.
Drinking in moderation—up to one drink a day for women and two for men—does not seem to raise diabetes risk much. Some studies suggest it might offer some protection, but experts do not all agree.
If you drink alcohol, try to stay within the recommended limits. If you do not drink, there is no need to start for health reasons.
Be extra careful with sweet mixed drinks and cocktails. These have both the calories from alcohol and a lot of sugar, which can quickly raise your blood sugar and add to weight gain.
8. Get Regular Blood Sugar Screening
Prediabetes usually does not cause any symptoms. Without a test, you may not know if your blood sugar is getting too high.
Adults should start getting their blood sugar checked at age 45, or sooner if they have risk factors like being of higher body weight, a family history of diabetes, or being part of a high-risk ethnic group.
Tests for blood sugar include fasting blood glucose, which measures your blood sugar after you have not eaten overnight, and HbA1c, which shows your average blood sugar over the last two to three months. Prediabetes means a fasting glucose of 100 to 125 mg/dL or an HbA1c of 5.7 to 6.4%.
If you have prediabetes, intensive lifestyle changes can often reverse it. Studies show that people with prediabetes who make sustained lifestyle changes reduce their risk of developing full diabetes by 58%.
Screening gives you information and choices. Finding problems early means you can make changes before any harm is done.
Making Prevention Sustainable
The best way to prevent diabetes is to make changes you can keep up over time. Big changes that are hard to stick with will not help in the long run.
Begin with one or two changes that feel doable. You might add a 20-minute walk most days or start each meal with vegetables. When these become habits, try adding another change.
Try to focus on adding good things, like more vegetables, more movement, and more sleep, instead of just cutting things out. This approach feels less restrictive.
Keep track of your progress, but do not worry about small changes from day to day. Look for patterns over weeks and months. Celebrate being consistent, not being perfect.
If you have prediabetes or several risk factors, think about working with a dietitian or joining a diabetes prevention program. These programs offer education, support, and help you stay on track.
Protecting Your Long-Term Health
Type 2 diabetes is not guaranteed, even if you have a family history or other risk factors. The habits you start now can shape your future health.
Studies show that changing your lifestyle works better than medicine for preventing diabetes in people at high risk. These same changes also help protect you from heart disease, stroke, and other health problems.
You do not have to be perfect. What matters is building habits you can keep up over time. Eating a balanced diet, staying active, keeping a healthy weight, not smoking, drinking alcohol in moderation, and getting regular checkups all help lower your risk.
Begin with your current habits. Make one change this week and let it become part of your routine. Then add another. Over time, these small steps add up to strong protection.
Your risk right now does not decide your future. By learning and taking steady action, you can protect your health for many years.
