---
title: "Prediabetes"
url: "https://eqhmedical.co.za/prediabetes/"
language: "en-ZA"
updated: "2026-10-08T11:47:46+00:00"
---

# Prediabetes

**Quick Answer:** Prediabetes Treatment & Reversal in Johannesburg Prediabetes means blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not yet in the diabetic range and, importantly, it is often reversible. At Equilibrium…

![](https://eqhmedical.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Equilibrium-Health-Prediabetes-576x1024.png)

# Prediabetes Treatment & Reversal in Johannesburg

Prediabetes means blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not yet in the diabetic range and, importantly, it is often reversible. At Equilibrium Health, prediabetes is treated as an early warning and a genuine opportunity, not an inevitability.

## ****What is prediabetes and how is it diagnosed?****

Prediabetes is diagnosed when HbA1c, a measure of average blood glucose over roughly three months, falls between 5.7% and 6.4%, or when fasting glucose is elevated above normal but below the threshold for type 2 diabetes. Even at this stage, before a diabetes diagnosis, elevated glucose is already associated with increased cardiovascular and microvascular risk, which is why early, active management matters rather than a ‘wait and monitor’ approach.

## **Can Prediabetes Be Reversed? What the Evidence Shows**

Yes, for a substantial proportion of patients, with the right intervention. The Diabetes Prevention Program, a landmark study of 3,234 people with prediabetes, found that an intensive lifestyle intervention, targeting roughly 7% weight loss alongside 150 minutes of moderate activity per week, reduced progression to type 2 diabetes by 58%, a significantly greater effect than the diabetes medication metformin achieved in the same trial.

Follow-up research building on the Diabetes Prevention Program has gone further, showing that weight loss of more than 5% of body weight led to remission of prediabetes (a genuine return to normal blood glucose regulation) in the majority of patients who achieved it, with remission becoming more likely as weight loss increased. The underlying mechanism is consistent: less visceral fat means less insulin resistance, which allows blood glucose regulation to normalise.

## ****Prediabetes treatment: lifestyle, dietitian support and medication where appropriate****

Whether weight loss is achieved through structured diet and lifestyle change alone, or with the addition of pharmacotherapy such as GLP-1 therapy where clinically appropriate, the evidence consistently points to the same underlying mechanism: reduced visceral fat and improved insulin sensitivity. At Equilibrium Health, the choice of approach depends on your individual metabolic assessment, not a one-size-fits-all protocol.

## **How much weight loss and activity reverses prediabetes?**

The research behind prediabetes reversal is specific, not vague ‘eat better’ advice. It generally involves a structured, moderate weight-loss target (commonly cited around 5–7% of body weight), regular moderate-intensity activity, and sustained dietary change rather than a short-term diet. This is precisely why dietitian involvement (not just a doctor’s recommendation) is built into the Equilibrium Health prediabetes programme: sustainable change requires ongoing, practical support.

## **Why Early Intervention Matters**

Cardiovascular and microvascular risk begins rising during the prediabetic stage, before a formal diabetes diagnosis. Acting early, while the condition is still reversible for many patients, offers a meaningfully different long-term outcome than waiting until a type 2 diabetes diagnosis is made.