{"id":284717,"date":"2025-11-11T05:46:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T05:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/284717\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T05:46:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T05:46:18","slug":"why-scientists-say-lifting-weights-beats-running-for-fat-loss-and-blood-sugar-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/284717\/","title":{"rendered":"Why scientists say lifting weights beats running for fat loss and blood sugar control"},"content":{"rendered":"

In recent years, blood sugar<\/a> has expanded from a medical term to somewhat of a wellness buzz phrase. From the cancellation of oat milk<\/a> to alarming headlines about ultra-processed foods, everyone from your doctor to your favourite influencer has been talking about blood sugar levels \u2013 and how to better control them.
<\/p>\n

And for good reason \u2013 elevated blood sugar levels can put you at risk of developing pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes, which can lead to an array of other health issues, including heart attacks and strokes and kidney and nerve damage. <\/p>\n

Although experts have agreed that nutrition<\/a> is crucial in helping to manage blood sugar levels, one area of advice that hasn\u2019t had such a clear consensus is the type of exercise that is most effective.<\/p>\n

What to Read Next<\/p>\n

While running<\/a> has continually been promoted for its benefits in helping to manage blood sugar \u2013 it increases the rate at which your muscles convert glucose to energy, thus improving the body\u2019s insulin sensitivity (how cells respond to insulin) \u2013 a new study<\/a> has suggested that lifting weights may actually be more effective for diabetes and obesity prevention. <\/p>\n

Related StoryWhat did the study find?<\/p>\n

In a first-of-its-kind preclinical (performed on animals) trial, scientists directly compared running and weight lifting to see which was more effective at improving blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity in mice with diet-induced obesity.<\/p>\n

How on earth does one get mice to lift weights, you ask? Well, in this case, the research team built something entirely new \u2013 a mouse model of weight lifting. They designed a small shoulder collar that the mice wore to lift a weighted lid to access their food. It caused them to perform a squat-like movement, engaging the muscle contractions humans use during resistance exercise and the load was gradually increased over several days to mimic progressive strength training. The mice in the endurance group ran on a running wheel. <\/p>\n

Related Story<\/p>\n

Over eight weeks, the researchers tracked weight gain, body composition<\/a>, and fat distribution, and looked at the mice\u2019s exercise capacity, heart and muscle function, and blood sugar regulation. <\/p>\n

They found that while both running and weight lifting led to fat loss and improved blood sugar, weight lifting outperformed running in these areas. <\/p>\n

The researchers found that resistance training completely mitigated the impaired glucose intolerance caused by a high-fat diet, while cardio exercise only partially improved it. In other words, weight lifting helped lower the mice\u2019s elevated blood sugar levels almost back to normal, whereas the cardio group still demonstrated elevated glucose. <\/p>\n

What does this mean for us?<\/p>\n

\u2018The findings bring good news for people who, for any number of reasons, cannot engage in endurance-type exercise,\u2019 said the study\u2019s lead author, Professor Zhen Yan. \u2018Weight training has equal, if not better, anti-diabetes benefits.\u2019<\/p>\n

However, he added that the takeaway message is that, where possible, you should incorporate both endurance and resistance exercise to reap the most health benefits.<\/p>\n

The bottom line<\/p>\n

While this study involved mice rather than humans, the researchers were able to closely mirror the effects of human exercise, making the findings promising. <\/p>\n

So, while more clinical trials are needed before we can say anything with complete conviction, this study adds to a growing body of research about the far-reaching benefits of strength training, challenging long-held beliefs that cardio is always king. <\/p>\n

Related Stories\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Hannah Bradfield is a Senior Health and Fitness Writer for Women\u2019s Health UK. An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Hannah graduated from Loughborough University with a BA in English and Sport Science and an MA in Media and Cultural Analysis. \u00a0She has been covering sports, health and fitness for the last five years and has created content for outlets including BBC Sport, BBC Sounds, Runner\u2019s World and Stylist. She especially enjoys interviewing those working within the community to improve access to sport, exercise and wellness. Hannah is a 2024 John Schofield Trust Fellow and was also named a 2022 Rising Star in Journalism by The Printing Charity. \u00a0A keen runner, Hannah was firmly a sprinter growing up (also dabbling in long jump) but has since transitioned to longer-distance running. While 10K is her favoured race distance, she loves running or volunteering at parkrun every Saturday, followed, of course, by pastries. She\u2019s always looking for fun new runs and races to do and brunch spots to try.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In recent years, blood sugar has expanded from a medical term to somewhat of a wellness buzz phrase.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":284718,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[872,150345,874,337,97,2245,150344],"class_list":{"0":"post-284717","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-content-type-news","9":"tag-contentid-bd8bebec-eb15-4e54-ab31-4e245af8fa5a","10":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","11":"tag-fitness","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-locale-gb","14":"tag-shorttitle-how-lifting-weights-helps-blood-sugar-control"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}