In 1965, when Len Barry sang "One, two, three/Oh, that's all elementary," he had no idea that he had created the perfect slogan for an anti-diabetes campaign.

Fast forward 60 years and the PREDIMED-Plus study is singing the praises of one, two, three simple lifestyle changes that can cut a person’s risk of developing full-blown Type 2 diabetes by 31%.

Researchers followed almost 5,000 people for six years and compared the benefit of sticking to a Mediterranean diet to the health impact of combining a Mediterranean diet that reduced calorie intake by about 600 a day along with brisk walking and strength and balance exercises and professional support for weight management. (That means you work with a diabetes educator, primary care physician, or nutritionist — but you can enlist friends and family too.)

That triple effort is what achieved such a strong drop in the risk for diabetes.

And there were other benefits from following the 1-2-3 plan. For instance, study participants lost an average of more than 7 pounds and reduced their waist circumference by almost 1.5 inches.

If you're at risk for diabetes (because of a family predisposition or being overweight or sedentary) or if you've been told you have prediabetes (an A1C test result of 6.5% or higher), it's time to 1-2-3 step up to this new lifestyle pattern.

My book "This Is Your Do-Over" offers insights on optimizing the Mediterranean diet, and in-depth information and support on physical activity and weight management that will help you transform your life.