The recent Diabetes UK-funded study reveals that using a pedometer can help reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by more than 50%.

The new research assessed the effectiveness of pedometer use as part of the Pre-diabetes Risk Education and Physical Activity Recommendation and Encouragement (PREPARE) program. In addition, the device showed excellent results with a reduction in 2-hour post-challenge glucose of 1.31 mmol/L and fasting glucose reduction of 0.32 mmol/L, compared with those just receiving a brief information leaflet.

Dr Thomas Yates, from the department of cardiovascular sciences at the University of Leicester, said that the reductions were similar to those seen in the most successful diabetes prevention trials.

The recent evaluation, published today in Diabetes Care, involved randomization of 87 overweight or obese patients in Leicester to three interventions. These formed a three-hour structured educational program involving personalized goals and a pedometer, and a three-hour educational program with generic goals or an information leaflet.

The authors of the evaluation claim that the health program was already being carried out in many areas of the country, and is now being implemented in Primary Care Trusts in England and Ireland. Longer-term evaluation of its impact continues both in these PCTs and in the original study participants.