Diabetes and Physical Activity

exerciseBy Sam Skelton

In the United States, 29.1 million people have diabetes (CDC, 2014). Think about that number for a second – that’s more than the total population of Australia. In 2012, 1.7 million people 20 years and older were diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which is where the body cannot use insulin properly. One in three adults are prediabetic. The risk of death for adults with diabetes is 50% higher than those without (Colberg, et al., 2010). These statistics are staggering. What can we do about this? The good news is that physical activity can help prevent and manage the health related complications from diabetes.

Exercise plays a major role in preventing and controlling insulin resistance (NIDDK, 2014). Both resistance training and cardiovascular exercise is recommended. Let’s get scientific here to learn why both types of training are beneficial. Cardiovascular training utilizes fat as an energy system, and fat oxidation is a key aspect of improved insulin action. A chronic effect of cardiovascular training results in greater insulin action via increased lipid storage in muscle and fat oxidation capacity, thus improving the blood glucose control in the diabetic exerciser (Colberg, et al., 2010).

Both cardiovascular exercise and resistance training require muscle contractions, and contracting muscles increase the uptake of blood glucose. While blood glucose levels are maintained by the glucose production in the liver, resistance training can especially assist in the muscular uptake of blood glucose. What is fascinating is that blood glucose uptake is normal when the muscles start working in a diabetic individual, where insulin-mediated uptake is usually impaired. To sum it up, an increase in muscle mass contributes to greater blood glucose uptake and thus enhances the blood glucose management for the diabetic exerciser (NIDDK, 2014).

A combination of both cardiovascular exercise and resistance training shows greater improvements in health complications from diabetes than either type of exercise alone. The take away here is to move every day (minimum of 10 min bouts; 150 min/wk) to the point where you are out of breath or not able to sing. At least twice a week (non-consecutive days), be sure to include resistance training into your workout routine. Perform 5-10 exercises involving all major muscle groups with three sets of 8-10 repetitions (Colberg, et al., 2010).

References

Centers for Disease Control. 2014 National Diabetes Statistics Report.

Colberg, et al. (2010). Exercise and Type 2 Diabetes. The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Diabetes Association: joint position statement. U.S. National Library of Medicine.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Diabetes and Physical Activity. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

About the Author

Sam Skelton, B.S. Kinesiology

Sam is an ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist and enjoys helping others attain a healthy lifestyle. Sam has been surfing since he was eight years old and raves about the “five waves a day program”. He also loves music and enjoys playing guitar in a punk rock band.

Most of all, Sam delights in spending time with his wife, Julie, and his sons Henry and Theodore. The Skelton’s love spending time outdoors; from the beaches of Santa Cruz, to the nearby mountains full of huge redwoods and sequoias.

sams-family

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