Exercising less than daily still works for diabetics: study
The researchers continuously monitored the men’s blood sugar during exercise and for the next couple of days.
When the men didn’t exercise at all, they had high blood sugar 32 percent of the time. But when they biked, their blood sugar was in the high range only 24 percent of the time, no matter which schedule they followed.
The two exercise schedules also did equally well in terms of lowering the men’s average blood sugar levels.
How Exercise Benefits People with Type 2 Diabetes
In addition to boosting your energy levels, mood, and capacity to burn calories for weight loss, regular exercise can lead to the following benefits:
Improved blood sugar control by enhancing insulin sensitivity. Exercising on a regular basis makes muscles use insulin better. When muscles are able to use insulin better, they are able to pull more glucose from the bloodstream to use for energy. The more vigorously you exercise, the more glucose you’ll use, and the longer the positive effects on your blood glucose levels will last.
Increased insulin sensitivity. Type-2 diabetics who exercise regularly need less insulin to move glucose from the bloodstream and into the cells that need it.
Reduced need for medication. Combined with a healthy eating plan, regular exercise can reduce—or even eliminate—the need for glucose-lowering medication in some people.
Reduced cardiovascular risks. Diabetes has negative effects on heart health, increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. Exercise reduces these risks by increasing HDL (good) cholesterol, lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol, and reducing triglycerides in the blood stream. Physical activity also improves blood flow, increases your heart’s pumping power, and reduces blood pressure.
According to van Loon, whose findings appear in the journal Diabetes Care, women with type 2 diabetes are likely to reap the same benefits as the men in this study.
However, the participants in the current study were relatively healthy - they didn’t have heart disease and weren’t extremely obese, for instance. So it’s not clear whether the results apply to all people with type 2 diabetes, because many may have health problems that make them unable to exercise as often or as much as the participants in the new study.
Currently, the American Diabetes Association recommends 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking.
“These findings set the stage for a more personalized exercise prescription, tailored to the needs and capabilities of the individual with type 2 diabetes,” van Loon said.
###
(Reuters Health)