Associate professor in the Hubert Department of Global Health, and the School of Public Health at Emory University

Hui Shao, MD, PhD

Reducing Type 2 Diabetes Risk With Lifestyle Intervention, with Piaopiao Li and Hui Shao, MD, PhD

New long term findings from the VA MOVE! lifestyle intervention program found that it generally reduced the incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) over 15 years, although efficacy significantly varied by subgroups and declined over time.

These long term data were presented by Piaopiao Li, MS, a PhD candidate at University of South Florida, at the 

2025 American Diabetes Association (ADA) Scientific Sessions

 spoke with Li and the primary investigator of the study, Hui Shao, MD, PhD, associate professor in the Hubert Department of Global Health, and the School of Public Health at Emory University, to learn more about what VA MOVE!, demonstrated in terms of T2D risk reduction, what the findings add to the literature, and further research they would like to see done with lifestyle interventions and T2D risk.

After 3 year follow up, the risk of developing T2D was reduced by 49% and after 15 years follow up, the risk was reduced by 24%. The investigators also found that those with higher baseline BMI or with higher random glucose level benefitted more from participating the VA MOVE! program.

"The missing gap this study is trying to fill is actually to understand the long term effectiveness of the program... I think the success of this project in particular was that [it demonstrated] the long term benefit of the lifestyle interventions. So this actually works, which is something novel and never being tested and examined in previous literatures. So this is what is added to the current existing knowledge," Shao said.

Li and Shao have no disclosures to report.

Li P, Shao H, Xue Q, et al. Assessing the Real-World Effectiveness of the VA MOVE! Lifestyle Program in Preventing Type 2 Diabetes—A 15-Year Follow-up Study [Board No. 160]. Presented at: ADA 2025; June 20-23; Chicago, Illinois. Presentation #160-OR

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Li and Shao discussed the T2D risk reduction seen over the course of the VA MOVE! lifestyle intervention program for veterans.

VA MOVE! Reinforces Why Veteran-Specific Diabetes Prevention Research Matters, with Piaopiao Li and Hui Shao, MD, PhD

The VA MOVE! Program generally reduced the incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) over 15 years, although efficacy significantly varied by subgroups and declined over time.

These long term data were presented at the 

, held June 20-23, in Chicago, Illinois, by Piaopiao Li, MS, a PhD candidate at University of South Florida.

 spoke with Li and the primary investigator of the study, Hui Shao, MD, PhD, associate professor in the Hubert Department of Global Health, and the School of Public Health at Emory University, to learn more about VA MOVE!, the efficacy it has shown previously, and its real-world findings out to 15 years.

Li emphasized the specific disease burden of T2D in the veteran population and to the health care system. She overviewed the VA MOVE! study and its origins from NIH diabetes prevention program (DPP) trials.

Prior to the long-term follow-up, investigators had found that participating in VA MOVE! was associated with a 33% risk reduction for T2D. Shao outlined how VA MOVE fits into the larger scheme of CDC-funded DPP-like intervention studies in different populations.

“The disease burden [in veterans] is different and we're kind of moving to a precision diabetes era. So, diabetes has many different subtypes and in veterans, not only is the disease burden different, the composition of different subtypes are very different from the general population. And so, the targeted type of diabetes prevention strategies specifically for veterans is very important as compared to the one deployed in the general population,” Shao told 

Li and Shao discussed the heavy disease burden of type 2 diabetes in the VA population and outlined the VA MOVE! study.

Hui Shao, MD, PhD

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