Preventing Type 2 Diabetes Cuts Carbon Emissions by 67%

Scientists have discovered a powerful win-win: preventing type 2 diabetes doesn't just save lives, it dramatically reduces healthcare's environmental impact.

A new study published in BMJ Open found that helping people with pre-diabetes avoid full-blown type 2 diabetes through diet and exercise could cut related carbon emissions by 67% over their lifetime. That translates to preventing 19,129 kg of CO2 equivalent per person compared to letting the disease progress naturally.

The research comes at a critical moment. By 2045, an estimated 783 million adults worldwide will be living with diabetes, including 4.41 million in the UK alone. The disease killed 6.7 million people globally in 2021 and cost the UK's National Health Service £14 billion in just one year.

Researchers from IQVIA analyzed two scenarios using diabetes data analytics with a new environmental module. They compared people who prevented diabetes progression through lifestyle changes against those who developed the disease naturally, plus well-controlled versus poorly-controlled diabetes patients.

The results were stunning. People who stayed at the pre-diabetes stage through healthy habits lived an extra six years and experienced 73% fewer kidney complications and 73% fewer eye disease events. They also needed far less medication and fewer intensive medical procedures.

Even for people already diagnosed, good diabetes management made a huge difference. Well-controlled type 2 diabetes added nearly two extra years of life and reduced CO2 emissions by 21% compared to uncontrolled disease, despite requiring more upfront treatment.

The carbon savings came primarily from avoiding serious complications. Preventing cardiovascular disease treatments cut emissions by 36%, kidney disease treatments by 98%, and eye disease treatments by 73%. Reducing the need for diabetes medications themselves lowered emissions by 88.5%.

The Ripple Effect

This research shows how personal health choices create environmental benefits far beyond the individual. Every person who prevents diabetes through lifestyle changes doesn't just improve their own life—they help healthcare systems move toward sustainability goals.

The UK's National Health Service has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2040, with an 80% reduction target by 2028-32. Currently, the NHS generates about 25 megatons of CO2 annually, roughly 4% of England's total greenhouse gas emissions.

The study's lead researchers note they couldn't even capture the full environmental benefit, since adopting healthier lifestyles—more walking, plant-based eating, less processed food—carries its own carbon-reducing advantages beyond medical treatment avoidance.

The findings arrive as more than one in three people with type 2 diabetes in England and Wales still aren't meeting recommended blood sugar control targets, despite proven treatment guidelines. The gap between what's possible and what's happening represents millions of tons of preventable emissions and thousands of avoidable deaths.

Healthcare providers are now equipped with clear evidence that prevention programs and better disease management deliver triple benefits: healthier patients, lower costs, and meaningful climate action through reduced emissions from medications, procedures, and complication treatments.

Simple lifestyle changes today can reshape both personal health and planetary health for decades to come.