Orange County, CA - March 13th, 2019 - Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. The disease usually develops in middle-aged and older adults but can appear in younger individuals. In 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reported that out of the 30.3 million Americans, 9.4 percent of the United States have diabetes.
Little to no physical activity gives an unnecessary risk of diabetes, but is there an exercise that might reduce it? A new study shows no more than a moderate amount of strength training was associated with a 32 percent lowered risk of developing type 2 diabetes."While it's not entirely clear why higher strength did not protect against diabetes, it's possible that higher aerobic fitness, higher amounts of physical activity and lower body mass indexes that were present in this higher-strength group were also affecting the relationship between strength and diabetes," said Angelique Brellenthin, a postdoctoral research associate in Iowa State University's College of Human Sciences, who was an author of the study.
The study recruited 4,681 adults, who didn’t have diabetes at the beginning of the research. Participants were subjected by researchers to treadmill exercise and muscular strength tests, while researchers customized the measurements to body weight, biological sex, and age. Each took part in health exams at the beginning and follow-up stages.
"We want to encourage small amounts of resistance training, and it doesn't need to be complicated. You can get a good resistance workout with squats, planks, or lunges. Then, as you build strength, you can consider adding free weights or weight machines," says Brellenthin.
It remains unclear just how often, and at what intensity, a person should engage in strength training to reduce their diabetes risk. Co-author Angelique Brellenthin, adds that even a small amount of resistance training is, most likely, better than none at all and that people should not feel as though they have to jump right into the most challenging exercises to reap the benefits.
The findings appear in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
