This paper by Perreault et al. sought to examine sex differences in risk factors for diabetes and compare the effects of lifestyle changes on cardiometabolic and diabetes risk in men versus women in the Diabetes Prevention Program. Results of this lifestyle intervention program showed that meeting the 7% weight loss goal via a hypocaloric low-fat diet and 150 min. per week of moderate-intensity physical activity was strongly correlated with the prevention of type 2 diabetes in both men and women. Surprisingly, the authors found that men in the intensive lifestyle modification group lost significantly more weight and were more active than women, but their rate of progression to diabetes (or regression to normal glucose tolerance) was the same. However, the authors acknowledged that despite the fact that intensive lifestyle modification has more favourable effects in men, baseline risk factors were more prevalent in men and likely obscured any sex difference in incident diabetes.
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