Those oh-so-healthy school lunches you ate during high school—you remember, powdered mashed potatoes and rubbery pizza—may have left a nasty aftertaste that's lingering on into adulthood.
Research just published online in the journal Diabetes Care found that a poor diet during high school, characterized by refined grains, processed meats, and lots of desserts, increased a woman's risk of type 2 diabetes later in life by 29%. Women whose bad diets never graduated from high school had an 82% higher risk of diabetes than women who had healthier diets during both adolescence and adulthood. The researchers determined this after analyzing the dietary and medical histories of 37,038 women participating in the Nurse's Health Study.
Regardless of what you ate in high school, exercise and eating healthier now can still cut your diabetes risk in half. Why? Both cause you to shed pounds, which is the single-most important thing adults can do to ward off diabetes. Strive for 150 minutes of physical activity—and that doesn't need to mean gut-wrenching sweat sessions at the gym. A simple 30-minute brisk walk is highly effective at helping you lose weight.