People with Type 2 diabetes are being prescribed medication too readily after diagnosis without giving healthy lifestyle changes a chance. A Diabetes UK-funded study of 652 people newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes showed that 36% were prescribed diabetes tablets within a month of diagnosis.
Guidelines by the National Institute for Clinical Health and Excellence recommend lifestyle management only for all people with Type 2 diabetes for a period of time before commencing medication. Figures also show that 13% of those in the study on medication were already taking two types of tablets. The research was presented at Diabetes UK’s Annual Professional Conference in Glasgow. “Diabetes UK is concerned that in some cases, medication is the first port of call,” said Simon O’Neill, from Diabetes UK. “A healthy, balanced diet and doing physical activity should always be the foundation of good diabetes management.
