Medical Nutrition Therapy Can Improve HbA1c in Children and Adolescents

Prediabetes may be defined as having elevated glucose, but not elevated enough to be called diabetes. Prediabetes is known to sometimes lead to type 2 diabetes. And while for adults,  the progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes has received much attention, and is understood to a great extent, the progression of prediabetes to type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents has not received a lot of attention, and the progression is less understood. One study looked at how nutrition, “as a surrogate marker for lifestyle modification,” could affect the progression in children and adolescents over a period of four years. 

The researchers hypothesized that “Adherence to nutrition visits could reduce BMI and lower HbA1c.” The study participants consisted of 108 youths who had prediabetes. There were 46 males with an average age of 12.4, and 62 females with an average age of 13.3. All 108 youths were given medical nutrition therapy every three months after receiving a diagnosis of prediabetes. The study participants were split into two groups – an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received at least two nutrition visits per year, and the control group received no more than one nutrition visit per year. And while the control group had higher BMI z-scores, both groups had similar HbA1c measurements.

The control group progressed to type 2 diabetes at a faster rate than the experimental group. Eighteen of the control group participants moved on to type2 diabetes by the fourth year, and four of the experimental group participants moved on to type 2 diabetes by the fourth year. The average time it took the participants in the control group to get type 2 diabetes was 25.8 ± 12.6 months. And the average time it took the participants in the experimental group to get type 2 diabetes was 34.9 ± 11.8 months.

The researchers concluded that “Adherence to nutrition visits was associated with a 4-fold reduction in the likelihood to progress from prediabetes to T2D in US youth.” Indeed, nutrition should play a significant role in the treatment of prediabetes in children and adolescents, just as it does in the treatment of prediabetes in adults. And healthcare providers and coaches should take note. 

 

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