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5 min readDaily moderate- to high-intensity exercise lowers your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to one study.Doctors say exercise helps increase insulin sensitivity and manage bodyweight, both of which contribute to a reduced diabetes risk.Experts share other lifestyle strategies to improve blood sugar management and minimize risk.<\/p>\n
Taking a brisk walk or doing some gentle exercise is experts\u2019 number-one tip for getting blood sugar down fast<\/a> if you\u2019re experiencing a spike. Now, research suggests that the benefits of exercise for blood sugar management go far beyond these immediate perks\u2014one study found that high-intensity exercise lowers risk of type 2 diabetes. Read on to discover what the results show, where the benefits come from, and other smart strategies to help minimize diabetes risk.<\/p>\n The study, which was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine<\/a>, analyzed data from more than 59,000 people from the U.K. Biobank. Researchers monitored participants\u2019 physical activity with accelerometers.<\/p>\n Meet the experts: Borja del Pozo Cruz, Ph.D.<\/a>, a professor in the Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics at the University of Southern Denmark; Mark H. Schutta, M.D.<\/a>, medical director of the Penn Rodebaugh Diabetes Center; Pouya Shafipour, M.D.<\/a>, a board-certified family and obesity medicine physician of Providence Saint John\u2019s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA.<\/p>\n The researchers found that people who performed up to an hour a day of moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise had up to a 74% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those in the study that were more sedentary. (Worth noting: People who did any amount of moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise daily saw a drop in type 2 diabetes risk, too.) The researchers also discovered that exercising regularly helped lower type 2 diabetes risk in people who had higher genetic odds of developing the disease.<\/p>\n As a result, the study concluded that participation in physical activity\u2014especially moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise\u2014should be encouraged, especially in people with a high genetic risk of developing type 2 diabetes. \u201cThere may be no minimal or maximal threshold for the benefits,\u201d researchers added in study notes.<\/p>\n \u201cType 2 diabetes is very prevalent worldwide,\u201d said study co-author Borja del Pozo Cruz, Ph.D.<\/a>, a professor in the Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics at the University of Southern Denmark. While exercise is \u201coften recommended\u201d to lower a person\u2019s risk of developing the disease, he pointed out that there \u201cwere not specific recommendations\u201d about how to approach it.<\/p>\n The researchers found that exercise that makes you sweat and leaves you breathless to some degree is best. That can include things like brisk walking, running, dancing, HIIT workouts, biking uphill or at a fast pace, or intense gardening. \u201cIt may be that some level of intensity is required to activate some of the mechanisms that protect against the disease, particularly for those with higher genetic predisposition,\u201d del Pozo Cruz said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)<\/a>, people who have a parent or sibling with type 2 diabetes, had gestational diabetes or gave birth to a baby over nine pounds, or are African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian, or Alaska Native are all at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and could all benefit from this type of exercise intervention.<\/p>\n The researchers didn\u2019t explore why exercise may lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes\u2014they just found an association. However, there are some theories.<\/p>\n Exercise is \u201cknown to impact several biological mechanisms associated with diabetes,\u201d including optimizing the way the body regulates glucose (a.k.a. blood sugar), del Pozo Cruz said.<\/p>\n Exercise also helps sensitize your body to insulin, which helps blood sugar enter the body\u2019s cells so it can be used for energy, explained Mark H. Schutta, M.D.<\/a>, medical director of the Penn Rodebaugh Diabetes Center. \u201cIf insulin works better in the body, the beta cells in the pancreas that make insulin are going to be able to rest a bit and may not progress to type 2 diabetes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise also increases fat-burning in general, which could help people have a lower body weight\u2014and being overweight or obese is a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes, said Pouya Shafipour, M.D.<\/a>, a board-certified family and obesity medicine physician of Providence Saint John\u2019s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. \u201cThe effect of these exercises lasts beyond the duration of exercise,\u201d he said. \u201cThe metabolism and fat-burning effect usually last for a few hours afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to note that this isn\u2019t the only study that has linked exercise to a lowered risk of type 2 diabetes. One study in the journal Diabetes Care<\/a> determined that for every 1,000 steps a person takes a day, they have a 6% lower type 2 diabetes risk. And a 2025 review in the International Journal of Medical Sciences<\/a> found that people with prediabetes who exercised regularly were less likely to progress to diabetes than those who did not exercise.<\/p>\n \u201cThe latest findings shouldn\u2019t surprise any endocrinologist,\u201d Dr. Schutta said. \u201cBut the nice thing about this study is that I can show it to a patient who I can\u2019t even get to walk and say, Look, see? This can help.\u201d<\/p>\n Other ways to lower your risk of type 2 diabetes<\/p>\n Dr. Schutta stressed that lifestyle changes are crucial\u2014but again, genetic factors play a large role in type 2 diabetes. \u201cThe best therapy for type 2 diabetes\u2014more than any medication\u2014is lifestyle,\u201d he said. Del Pozo Cruz agreed. \u201cA well-rounded lifestyle is key,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re concerned about your type 2 diabetes risk or your doctor has concerns, Del Pozo Cruz recommended increasing your physical activity and the intensity of your exercise, eating a healthy diet, minimizing alcohol, and trying to be socially active.<\/p>\n Dr. Shafipour acknowledged that exercising for 60 minutes a day is \u201cprobably not reasonable for the majority of society.\u201d So, he suggested aiming for 30 minutes of cardio every day and adding in strength training several times a week.<\/p>\n Ultimately, there are many factors that contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes. So it\u2019s a good idea to check with your doctor about your risk, as well as any potential next steps you could take to stave off the disease. Advice on how to best lower your risk \u201cultimately depends on who the person is,\u201d Dr. Schutta said.<\/p>\n RELATED STORIES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"5 min readDaily moderate- to high-intensity exercise lowers your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362979,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[175216,635,175215,637,163,85,46,1975,149299,175214],"class_list":{"0":"post-362978","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-collection-diabetes","9":"tag-content-type-news","10":"tag-contentid-6760f618-81b5-4450-829f-20fca53ba847","11":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-il","14":"tag-israel","15":"tag-locale-us","16":"tag-read_time-5","17":"tag-shorttitle-study-this-exercise-solution-lowers-diabetes-risk"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}