Mediterranean Diet, Exercise, and Type 2 Diabetes Prevention

This session outlines research investigating the effectiveness of a modified Mediterranean diet combined with exercise in preventing type 2 diabetes (T2D) among adults who are overweight or obese and have metabolic syndrome. The study, a secondary analysis of the PREDIMED-Plus trial, compared an energy-reduced Mediterranean diet with physical activity and behavioural support against a traditional Mediterranean diet with ad libitum caloric intake. Researchers found a 31% reduced risk of developing T2D in the intervention group over 6.6 years, especially for men. This suggests that while a standard Mediterranean diet has benefits, integrating caloric restriction and increased physical activity offers a more robust strategy for T2D prevention in this demographic. The authors recommend clinicians consider this enhanced approach, particularly when conventional dietary advice alone falls short. Limitations include diabetes being a secondary outcome and the potential for limited generalisability beyond a specific age group and European Mediterranean context.