UNTMatt
10-06-2007, 04:02 PM
Exercise aids blood sugar levels
By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY
Good news for diabetics: Both aerobic exercise and strength training improve blood sugar levels. And lots of both provides the best results, a new study shows.
About 20.8 million people in the USA have diabetes. Type 2 diabetes — the most common kind — is associated with obesity, lack of exercise and genetics.
Diabetes is caused by the body's failure to produce enough insulin or to use it effectively to reduce blood sugar levels. Over time, high sugar levels damage large and small blood vessels, leading to heart disease, stroke, nerve damage, amputations, blindness and kidney disease.
To test the impact of different types of exercise on blood sugar control, researchers in Calgary and Ottawa, Canada, recruited 251 sedentary diabetics, ages 39 to 70.
Participants were assigned to one of four groups: no exercise; 45 minutes of aerobic exercise such as walking or indoor biking three times a week; strength (resistance or weight) training for 45 minutes three times a week; aerobics and strength training for 45 minutes each three times a week.
They were given memberships to an exercise facility and asked to follow their plans for 22 weeks. They used treadmills and indoor exercise bikes and wore pedometers to track their activity. Their programs were periodically supervised by personal trainers.
At three and six months, participants were given a test that measures hemoglobin A1c, an estimate of the average blood sugar level over the past three months. It's expressed in percentages.
A 1 percentage point decrease in this score (for example, dropping from a 7.5% to a 6.5%) is associated with a 15% to 20% decrease in the risk of heart attacks or strokes and a 25% to 40% decrease in risk of diabetes-related eye or kidney disease.
The American Diabetes Association says people with diabetes should aim for 7% or less.
The findings in today's Annals of Internal Medicine show:
• The no-exercise group had no change in A1c.
• The aerobic exercise group had an average decrease of 0.51% in A1c compared with the no-exercise group.
• The strength training group had an average decrease of 0.38%.
• Participants who did both types of exercise had a 0.97% drop.
• The average A1c for the exercise groups went from above 7% to at or below 7%; the other group stayed above 7%.
"This confirms the tremendous value of exercise for people with type 2 diabetes, and those who want to maximize the results should do both aerobic exercise and resistance training," says lead author Ronald Sigal, an associate professor of medicine, cardiac sciences and kinesiology at the University of Calgary.
"For people with diabetes, this is spectacular news," says Larry Deeb, past president of the American Diabetes Association. "It shows how important both kinds of exercise are. Take your pick, and you'll lower A1c. Exercise can lower blood sugar level almost as much as any single pill you can take."
Miriam Nelson, an exercise researcher at Tufts University, says, "If I had type 2 diabetes, I would be out there doing abundant aerobic activity and strength training. The great thing about aerobic activity is it burns a lot of calories and improves the whole vascular system from the heart to the cells. Strength training makes the muscles stronger and more sensitive to insulin. We need good cardiovascular health, and we need good muscular health."
USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-09-17-diabetes_n.htm?loc=interstitialskip)
Excellent article that I thought was worth posting. I think it validates my stance on both aerobic and resistance training.
By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY
Good news for diabetics: Both aerobic exercise and strength training improve blood sugar levels. And lots of both provides the best results, a new study shows.
About 20.8 million people in the USA have diabetes. Type 2 diabetes — the most common kind — is associated with obesity, lack of exercise and genetics.
Diabetes is caused by the body's failure to produce enough insulin or to use it effectively to reduce blood sugar levels. Over time, high sugar levels damage large and small blood vessels, leading to heart disease, stroke, nerve damage, amputations, blindness and kidney disease.
To test the impact of different types of exercise on blood sugar control, researchers in Calgary and Ottawa, Canada, recruited 251 sedentary diabetics, ages 39 to 70.
Participants were assigned to one of four groups: no exercise; 45 minutes of aerobic exercise such as walking or indoor biking three times a week; strength (resistance or weight) training for 45 minutes three times a week; aerobics and strength training for 45 minutes each three times a week.
They were given memberships to an exercise facility and asked to follow their plans for 22 weeks. They used treadmills and indoor exercise bikes and wore pedometers to track their activity. Their programs were periodically supervised by personal trainers.
At three and six months, participants were given a test that measures hemoglobin A1c, an estimate of the average blood sugar level over the past three months. It's expressed in percentages.
A 1 percentage point decrease in this score (for example, dropping from a 7.5% to a 6.5%) is associated with a 15% to 20% decrease in the risk of heart attacks or strokes and a 25% to 40% decrease in risk of diabetes-related eye or kidney disease.
The American Diabetes Association says people with diabetes should aim for 7% or less.
The findings in today's Annals of Internal Medicine show:
• The no-exercise group had no change in A1c.
• The aerobic exercise group had an average decrease of 0.51% in A1c compared with the no-exercise group.
• The strength training group had an average decrease of 0.38%.
• Participants who did both types of exercise had a 0.97% drop.
• The average A1c for the exercise groups went from above 7% to at or below 7%; the other group stayed above 7%.
"This confirms the tremendous value of exercise for people with type 2 diabetes, and those who want to maximize the results should do both aerobic exercise and resistance training," says lead author Ronald Sigal, an associate professor of medicine, cardiac sciences and kinesiology at the University of Calgary.
"For people with diabetes, this is spectacular news," says Larry Deeb, past president of the American Diabetes Association. "It shows how important both kinds of exercise are. Take your pick, and you'll lower A1c. Exercise can lower blood sugar level almost as much as any single pill you can take."
Miriam Nelson, an exercise researcher at Tufts University, says, "If I had type 2 diabetes, I would be out there doing abundant aerobic activity and strength training. The great thing about aerobic activity is it burns a lot of calories and improves the whole vascular system from the heart to the cells. Strength training makes the muscles stronger and more sensitive to insulin. We need good cardiovascular health, and we need good muscular health."
USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-09-17-diabetes_n.htm?loc=interstitialskip)
Excellent article that I thought was worth posting. I think it validates my stance on both aerobic and resistance training.