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Lifestyle choices play a crucial role, especially when it comes to preventing type 2 diabetes. Research led by the University of Sydney has revealed that regular physical activity serves as an effective preventive measure against this disease, even among individuals with a genetic predisposition.
These findings have been published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
How the Study Was Conducted
The study involved 59,325 adults from the UK Biobank database, which contains biomedical data from half a million UK participants. At the beginning of the study, participants wore wrist-worn fitness trackers. They were then followed for a period of seven years to track the outcomes.
The analysis also incorporated data on genetic markers associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Individuals with a high genetic risk had a 2.4 times greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those with a low genetic risk.
Physical Activity Almost Neutralizes Genetic Risks
Individuals who devoted at least 68 minutes per day to physical exercise had a 74% lower chance of developing type 2 diabetes after 7 years compared to those who engaged in less than 5 minutes of physical activity per day.
Active individuals with a high genetic risk were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than sedentary individuals without it.
When your muscles work, they burn glucose (sugar) for fuel, clearing it from your bloodstream and lowering blood sugar as a result. Exercise also makes your body more sensitive to insulin
Melody Ding, PhD, senior author of the study and Associate Professor from the Charles Perkins Centre and the Faculty of Medicine and Health
Are You Exercising Enough?
Study showed, any amount of physical activity – even 5–25 minutes per day – can help reduce the risk of diabetes. The key condition is that the exercises should be of moderate or high intensity.
Moderate activity is when you breathe slightly harder and you sweat lightly. It could be a brisk walk, cycling on flat terrain, or even gardening or household chores.
During intense activity, you breathe heavily, sweat profusely, and find it difficult to speak more than a few words without taking a breath. This includes cardio workouts, jogging, uphill cycling, or digging in the garden.
And don’t forget about strength workouts. Twelve weeks of moderate-intensity strength training reduced fat levels and lipid content in the blood among individuals with a high genetic risk of type 2 diabetes.
A recent study found that breastfeeding can protect mothers from type 2 diabetes in the future.
