OBJECTIVE: To determine whether diet and endurance exercise improved adiposity-related measurements in Japanese Americans with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This study compared the effects of an American Heart Association (AHA) step 2 diet (< 30% of total calories as fat, < 7% saturated fat, 55% carbohydrate, and < 200 mg cholesterol daily) plus endurance exercise for 1 h three times a week (treatment group) with an AHA step 1 diet (30% of total calories as fat, 10% saturated fat, 50% carbohydrate, and < 300 mg cholesterol) plus stretching exercise three times a week (control group) on BMI, body composition (% fat), and body fat distribution at 6 and 24 months of follow-up in 64 Japanese American men and women with IGT, 58 of whom completed the study. RESULTS: At 6 months, the treatment group showed significantly greater reduction in percent, body fat (-1.4 +/- 0.4 versus -0.3 +/- 0.3%); BMI (-1.1 +/- 0.2 versus -0.4 +/- 0.1 kg/m2); subcutaneous fat by computed tomography at the abdomen (-29.3 +/- 4.2 versus -5.7 +/- 5.9 cm2), thigh (-13.2 +/- 3.6 versus -3.6 +/- 3.0 cm2), and thorax (-19.6 +/- 3.6 versus -8.9 +/- 2.6 cm2); and skinfold thickness at the bicep (-2.0 +/- 0.6 versus 1.1 +/- 0.6 mm) and tricep (-3.7 +/- 0.8 versus -0.9 +/- 0.6 mm), which continued despite moving to home-based exercise for the last 18 months. CONCLUSIONS: Diet and endurance exercise improved BMI, body composition, and body fat distribution and, thus, may delay or prevent type 2 diabetes in Japanese Americans with IGT.
Copyright American Diabetes Association. Reprinted with permission from The American Diabetes Association.

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