REA BLAKEY, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is that extra 15 pounds killing you? Maybe not; but if you're predisposed to developing diabetes, dropping that extra baggage could prevent diabetes and extend your life. After all, diabetes can cause kidney failure, heart disease and stroke, all of which can be deadly. Good reason to avoid the disease which, a new NIH study shows is possible with diet and exercise.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a modest increase in activity, just a modest modification of diet, and in an appropriate way in those particularly at high risk, we can prevent this disease.</s>BLAKEY: The study shows people who change their lifestyle in order to drop an average 15 pounds, or 7 percent of their body weight, delayed the onset of diabetes for the three years of the study. They went on a low-fat diet, exercising for two-and-a-half hours a week, and took behavioral modification classes to help them avoid falling back into weight-gaining habits. Now even people known to be predisposed to type II diabetes can delay it, maybe even avoid it. For "Feeling Fit," I'm Rea Blakey.
Feeling Fit: Diet, Exercise can Prevent Type II Diabetes