Losing a modest amount of weight through dietary changes and increased physical activity reduces the occurrence of urinary incontinence (UI) in women with prediabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not yet diabetic. This finding comes from a new study, published in the February issue of Diabetes Care, of women who participated in the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), a landmark clinical study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Launched in 1995, the DPP’s main results were announced in 2001 and reported in 2002.

Overweight or obese people face a significantly higher risk of developing end-stage renal disease (ESRD) or kidney failure compared with those who have normal body weight, according to a study in the Jan. 3 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. In addition, diabetes is one of the main causes of kidney disease.

“To combat the dual epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes, Americans need to know about the proven benefits of losing some weight through calorie reduction and increased physical activity,” said NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D.

The DPP randomly assigned 3,234 overweight people with higher-than-normal blood glucose levels to one of three approaches to prevent type 2 diabetes: dietary changes and increased physical activity aimed at a 7 percent weight loss; treatment with the oral diabetes drug metformin; or a placebo. The last two groups were also given standard medical advice about diet and weight loss. In the study, 660 women were randomly assigned to intensive lifestyle changes, 636 to metformin treatment and 661 to placebo.

Women who implemented intensive lifestyle changes and lost 5 to 7 percent of their weight had fewer episodes of weekly incontinence compared to those in the metformin or placebo groups.

“Our findings reinforce the DPP’s good news about the benefits of modest weight loss. A 200-pound woman who loses 10 to 15 pounds not only lowers the risk of developing type 2 diabetes but also improves bladder control,” said lead author Jeanette S. Brown, M.D., of the University of California, San Francisco. “If you’re a woman at risk for type 2 diabetes, preventing or delaying diabetes and improving bladder control are powerful reasons to make these lifestyle changes.”

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This article originally appeared in the February 2006 issue of Kidney Beginnings: The Electronic Newsletter.