CHICAGO - New research indicates that even small amounts of physical activity, approximately 75 minutes a week, can help improve the fitness levels for postmenopausal women who are sedentary and overweight or obese, according to a study in the May 16 issue of JAMA.

Higher dietary intake of fiber from grains, cereals, and magnesium, may each be associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a report and analysis in the May 14 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

We are pleased that doctors and diabetes experts are thinking about the future, and pointing out where our medical establishment might be leading people to take pills instead of modifying their lifestyle. Writing in BMJ, three respected diabetes authorities make the argument that changing lifestyle should be the mainstay of preventing type 2 diabetes rather than prescribing medication to people with pre-diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance.

Last month, a team from University of Leicester reported on their findings after they searched through virtually all of diabetes literature from the last many years that deals with diabetes prevention. The findings are no surprise but they are worth reading.

So, there is a new study from a team of doctors that outlines a pecking order of drugs that are meant to lower blood pressure and take a load off the heart. The pecking order is based on which drugs may have the lowest risk of association with diabetes. It turns out that people who take diuretics and beta blockers tend to develop more diabetes.