Medications Or Lifestyle Modification: What Is Better For Health?

Global medication use has been on the rise over the past decade. The pharmaceutical industry has become a multi-billion dollar enterprise, and research on the possible health benefits of medications is widespread. Chronic diseases such as heart problems, diabetes and obesity-related conditions represent a particularly lucrative target due to the intended long-term use of medications and, therefore, the higher profits associated with their sales. Many companies offer free clinical trials for new medications in order to assess their efficacy and safety. Clinical trials are often offered with a cash reward upon completion of a regimen. 

The modern drugs provide great opportunity for many people to live a normal life despite the presence of serious and even life-threatening health conditions. Although the use of prescription medications is widespread and the demand for this portion of healthcare is continuing to grow, a medication may not always be the best or most effective choice of care. Some medications are used to treat and control the aspects of health that can typically be managed with a good lifestyle. This is particularly true in relation to the conditions related to the excessive body weight. Obesity and excessive body weight are associated with an increased risk of diabetes and other health problems.

Many other diseases that are usually managed through medications can also be controlled and prevented by making appropriate lifestyle choices. It comes as a surprise for many patients that their problems do not necessarily call for pharmaceutical intervention. Several recent research studies perfectly illustrate this point.

Metformin And Type II Diabetes

Metformin is a drug usually prescribed to regulate blood glucose concentration. Previous studies demonstrated that a combination of metformin and lifestyle modification was beneficial for reducing the level of fat in adolescents. It is well known that sensible diet and regular exercise can help in normalizing the blood sugar and reducing the level of body fat as well.

One recent study with a rather unusual design aimed to find out if the addition of metformin to the people enrolled in the lifestyle modification program has any additional benefits. In this study, 16 obese adolescents aged 10 to 17 were randomly allocated to either a diet and exercise group or a group with the same combination of diet and exercise, plus a regimen of metformin. The participants were performing aerobic exercise three times a week for 30 minutes per session. In both groups the participants lost, on average, four percent of their body weight, almost nine percent body fat, and most subjects saw an overall fitness improvement. In addition, the structured exercise program reduced the inflammatory markers in the body, which helps to lower the risk of heart disease.

See Also: If People Made Simple Lifestyle Changes, One-Third Of Common Cancers Could Be Prevented

The scientists concluded that addition of metformin does not help in reducing the body weight, body fat, or inflammatory markers, at least in the conditions of their experimental design. The children who improved cardiorespiratory levels were also able to improve their blood glucose concentrations in this study without pharmaceutical intervention.

Obesity-Related Conditions Can Often Be Managed Without Drugs

Obesity, especially in the United States, has been an issue and growing concern over the last couple of decades. It leads to the rapidly increasing cost of healthcare since it is associated with a whole range of health complications. Recent opinions suggest that obesity may be as dangerous and costly for an individual as smoking. It is no wonder that in the face of obesity epidemics the researchers are paying particular attention to the benefits and advantages of non-pharmaceutical interventions and lifestyle modifications.

The lifestyle program consisted of 150 minutes per week of physical activity, which is the current recommendation for physical activity. The participants were followed for an average of 2.8 years and then the incidence of diabetes was compared between the groups. It was found that lifestyle modification reduced the overall incidence of diabetes by 58 percent. This was more significant than the effect of the regimen of metformin (31 percent decrease). While metformin was effective for reducing the overall markers of diabetes, a lifestyle modification program produced better results.

Hypertension, Stress Management And Lifestyle Modification

Diabetes is not the only chronic condition where the benefits of healthier lifestyle are comparable or better than the benefits of medications. Researchers have examined how lifestyle modifications and stress management can influence chronically elevated blood pressure. In one study, 122 individuals were subjected to eight weeks of either lifestyle modification or stress management program. It was shown that a significant amount of participants in both groups were able to eliminate an anti-hypertensive medication and maintain an adequate blood pressure, thus suggesting that a lifestyle modification program including relaxation techniques can help to lower hypertension levels among the individuals at risk.

Prehypertension And Exercise

Hypertension develops via the stage of so-called prehypertension, when the person’s blood pressure is elevated but not to the level that causes serious concerns. The condition is very common and is estimated to affect approximately 25 million Americans. Anti-hypertension medications can achieve quick results in reducing the blood pressure, but they cannot eliminate the underlying cause of this condition, which can eventually develop into hypertension if medication is discontinued.

A recent review has summarized the existing body of knowledge in regards to the approaches to the management of prehypertension.

See Also: Do Natural Hypertension Treatments Work?

When discussing the matter of childhood hypertension, this review recommends enrolling children in sports and to develop daily exercise habits as a “daily medication” for controlling blood pressure, among other aspects of health. The use of prescription medication continues to rise worldwide, but multiple evidences suggest that lifestyle modification programs can be as effective, and often even more effective, than medications in managing some of the most common chronic conditions for which medications are used.