metformin blunts critical improvements<\/a> in blood vessel function, fitness, and blood sugar control that normally come from working out.<\/p>\nThe Link Between Bad Posture and Health Issues and Weight Gain<\/p>\n
Doctors have been advised to recommend that patients with high blood sugar take metformin while engaging in exercise since 2006. These two were proven therapies that were thought to deliver better results together. However, the Rutgers researchers said the maths doesn\u2019t add up.\u201cMost health-care providers assume one plus one equals two. The problem is that most evidence shows metformin blunts exercise benefits,\u201d Steven Malin, a professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health in the School of Arts and Sciences and the lead author of the study, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The study<\/p>\n
The researchers recruited 72 adults at risk for metabolic syndrome, which is a cluster of conditions that increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease. These participants were divided into four groups: high-intensity exercise with placebo, high-intensity exercise with metformin, low-intensity exercise with placebo, and low-intensity exercise with metformin.For 16 weeks, the researchers tracked changes in blood vessel function under insulin stimulation \u2014 a key process that helps blood vessels dilate and deliver oxygen, nutrients, and hormones after meals.<\/p>\n
What did they find?<\/p>\n
The results were striking. They found that exercise alone improved vascular insulin sensitivity. This means blood vessels responded better to insulin and allowed more blood flow to muscles. This is a key finding, because insulin\u2019s ability to open blood vessels helps shuttle glucose out of the bloodstream and into tissues, lowering blood sugar after meals.But here\u2019s the twist: when metformin was added, the improvements dipped. The medication lowered gains in aerobic fitness and reduced the positive effects on inflammation and fasting glucose.\u201cBlood vessel function improved with exercise training, regardless of intensity. Metformin blunted that observation, suggesting one type of exercise intensity is not better either with the drug for blood vessel health,\u201d Malin said.<\/p>\n
Why these findings are crucial<\/p>\n
These findings are significant because exercise is supposed to lower blood sugar and improve physical function \u2014 crucial goals of diabetes treatment. If metformin interferes with those benefits, patients may not get the protection they expect to help lower disease risk.\u201cIf you exercise and take metformin and your blood glucose does not go down, that\u2019s a problem. People taking metformin also didn\u2019t gain fitness. That means their physical function isn\u2019t getting better and that could have long-term health risks,\u201d Malin added.The researchers noted that these findings don\u2019t mean people should stop taking metformin or exercising. The reason why metformin blunts exercise benefits remains unclear. It may lie in the drug\u2019s mechanism of action.Given that type 2 diabetes affects nearly 38 million people<\/a> in the United States, these findings are crucial. If lifestyle changes combined with medication are not working as expected, patients could face greater risks down the road.\u201cWe need to figure out how to best recommend exercise with metformin. We also need to consider how other medications interact with exercise to develop better guidelines for doctors to help people lower chronic disease risk,\u201d Malin said.Note: The information provided in this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before starting any new medication or treatment, or before changing your diet or supplement regimen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Rutgers study reveals that metformin, a common diabetes drug, may counteract the benefits of exercise. Researchers found…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[3535,3248,565,134,5457,49463,18396,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-131099","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-diabetes","9":"tag-exercise","10":"tag-fitness","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-heart-disease","13":"tag-insulin-sensitivity","14":"tag-metformin","15":"tag-new-zealand","16":"tag-newzealand","17":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Diabetes](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/125200096.jpg\" "\\"A")
A Rutgers study reveals that metformin, a common diabetes drug, may counteract the benefits of exercise. Researchers found the medication blunts improvements in blood vessel function, fitness, and blood sugar control typically achieved through physical activity. These findings challenge the long-held assumption that combining metformin and exercise offers additive benefits for chronic disease prevention. Regular workouts or daily walks are often recommended by health experts as one of the most effective defences against diabetes and heart disease. But what if the very drug meant to manage blood sugar is working against those goals? Yes, that\u2019s right.A recent study by Rutgers researchers has shed light on how a popular diabetes drug may be sabotaging one of the most trusted strategies for preventing the disease: exercise. The findings of the study are published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.<\/p>\n