Exercise reduces diabetes risk
If you have diabetes, your risk of having a heart attack is
about the same as a non-diabetic who’s already had a heart
attack.
If your parents have
diabetes, you are three times more likely to develop diabetes than
if you have no family history of the condition.
Diabetes develops when the body fails to
produce enough insulin, or the insulin it produces can’t
efficiently transport sugar from the blood into cells (insulin
resistance).
People whose parents have diabetes are often
more insulin resistant than others of a similar age. This means
they need to produce more insulin to keep their blood sugar at a
normal level.
In 2007 Dr Jason Gill and
Dr Nick Barwell at the University of Glasgow
carried out a study to see how exercise affected women’s risk of
developing diabetes.
Rose
Traynor, along with 69 other women - half with a
family history of diabetes – took part and followed an exercise
regime for seven weeks.
The first week involved three 30 minute
sessions of cardiovascular-type exercise like cycling, running, or
aerobics, building up to five 60 minute sessions in the final
weeks.
At the end of the study the women were fitter
and had less body fat. But it was only women with a family history
of diabetes who had reduced insulin resistance, and therefore
reduced risk of developing diabetes.
The researchers now want to find out why
exercise affects insulin resistance differently between the two
groups.
They are also looking for ways to identify
people who are at particularly high risk of developing diabetes and
would benefit most from advice about exercise.
As Dr Nick Barwell says: "You can't choose
your parents, but you can choose to get fitter!"
Got any questions about this page?
