FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 2, 2021

Contact:
Chip Faircloth, EVP
chip@myintervent.com
423-702-1583

SAVANNAH, GA (June 2, 2021) - INTERVENT International, a global behavior change and population health management company that provides services virtually using digital/telehealth approaches, announces the results of a peer-reviewed publication in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.

In the U.S., more than one-third of adults have prediabetes and, of those, as many as 1 in 5 has a normal body mass index (or BMI). It is hypothesized that normal weight individuals with prediabetes develop type 2 diabetes through different mechanisms and that methods of preventing diabetes in normal weight individuals may also differ. Currently, normal BMI is an exclusion criterion for participation in many reimbursable diabetes prevention programs, including the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program, and scarce data are available on the effectiveness of lifestyle changes in normal weight adults with prediabetes.

INTERVENT's study compared the effect of its technology-enabled lifestyle health coaching program on fasting blood glucose in normal weight (n = 129), overweight (n = 345) and obese (n = 884) adults with prediabetes (total = 1,358 participants). Participants completed a baseline and follow-up evaluation as part of the lifestyle health coaching program (mean follow-up = ~6 months). The program included 1-on-1 behaviorally-oriented live coaching by professional health coaches, mainly via the telephone and Internet, on exercise, nutrition and weight management.

Key results included the following:

• BMI decreased significantly in the overweight and obese participants but was unchanged in the normal weight participants.
• Minutes per week of aerobic exercise increased significantly in all three groups.
• Fasting blood glucose decreased significantly in all three groups and the magnitude of decrease did not differ significantly among groups.
• Prediabetes was reversed (that is, fasting blood glucose was reduced into the normal range of less than 100 mg/dL) without the use of medication in 58.1% of normal weight participants, 49.3% of overweight participants and 41.4% of obese participants. Overall, 45% of participants reversed their prediabetes.
• Benefits of the program extended beyond glucose management and included improvements in multiple cardiovascular disease risk factors (e.g., blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides) in the normal weight, overweight and obese participants.

Mandy Salmon, the study's lead author, noted, "This study is the first, to our knowledge, to show in a U.S. population that lifestyle health coaching is at least as effective in managing fasting blood glucose levels in normal weight adults with prediabetes when compared with those who are overweight or obese. We are hopeful that our study will generate interest in using evidence-based lifestyle intervention programs to help all adults with prediabetes reverse this serious health risk, including those who do not need to lose weight but who may still benefit from making lifestyle changes."

Dr. Neil Gordon, INTERVENT's chief executive officer and medical director, further stated, "Prediabetes is a costly chronic condition that serves as a precursor to type 2 diabetes. Given the alarmingly high prevalence of prediabetes, including in normal weight adults, our findings have important clinical and public health implications. In particular, current BMI-based eligibility criteria for participation in reimbursable diabetes prevention programs should be re-evaluated together with outcomes-based incentive payments to providers of diabetes prevention programs that focus primarily on weight loss."

Source: Mandy K. Salmon, BS, Neil F. Gordon, MD, PhD, MPH, Demitri Constantinou, MBBCh, BSc (Med) Hons, MSc Med, MPhil, Kevin S. Reid, MA, Brenda S. Wright, PhD, Terri L. Kridl, MPH, and George C. Faircloth, MHA. Comparative Effectiveness of Lifestyle Intervention on Fasting Plasma Glucose in Normal Weight Versus Overweight and Obese Adults with Prediabetes. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine; June 2, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1177/15598276211019012

About INTERVENT

INTERVENT International is a physician-led, global, technology-driven, behavior change and population health management company that provides services primarily via digital and telehealth approaches. The primary purpose of INTERVENT's programs is to improve individual and population-based measures of health while simultaneously reducing healthcare costs and enhancing productivity. The programs provide unique solutions for employers, health insurers, healthcare systems, physicians, individual consumers and others. INTERVENT's programs have been successfully used to serve numerous clients on multiple continents and in a variety of languages. More than two million individuals have participated in INTERVENT's programs, including patients from over 130 medical centers as part of two recent clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health. INTERVENT's digital/telehealth coaching program is currently being used by all participants in the Canadian Diabetes Prevention Program, conducted in collaboration with LMC Healthcare, Diabetes Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada. For more information, please visit www.interventhealth.com or email info@myintervent.com.