Six lifestyle fixes to avoid diabetes

1. Work out regularly: Exercising is the best way to burn energy, and the simplest exercise is walking. Performing physical activity on a regular basis can increase insulin secretion and sensitivity, which may help to prevent the progression from prediabetes to diabetes. Not everyone who is overweight or obese tends to have diabetes. However, people who have excess weight in their midsection and around abdominal organs like the liver can suffer from diabetes.

2. Drink water as your primary beverage: Aerated drinks are high in sugar and have been linked to increasing the risk of diabetes. Drinking water instead of other beverages may help to control blood sugar and reduce the risk of diabetes.

3. Consume less, burn more: Diabetes happens because we put on lots of belly fat, that causes an energy mismatch. So consume less energy and burn more of it. Avoid sweets, fried food, and juices. Prefer fruits to juices, because of fibre content. 55 per cent of your calories should come from complex carbohydrates, like chapatis (Indian bread).

4. Get up, get going: If you get very little or no time for physical activity and sit during most part of your day, then you lead a sedentary lifestyle. Changing sedentary behaviour can be as simple as standing up from your desk and walking around for a few minutes.

5. Get enought sleep: Diabetes does not only depend on fat, but also on a variety of hormones. There are certain "stress" hormones which increase the sugar level, and they are at their lowest during sleep. Get uninterrupted, eight hours of sleep.

6. Quit smoking: Smokers have a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than do nonsmokers. Besieds, smoking has been shown to cause or contribute to many serious health conditions such as heart diseases and lung cancer.