(24-05-11) Exercise improves control of diabetes glucose levels

Exercising - especially for more than two and a half hours a week - helps control glucose levels for people with type 2 diabetes. It can work about as well as adding a second glucose-control drug to treatment, a new study says.
What do we know already
Sensible diet and exercise are a key part of any treatment programme to manage diabetes. There have been many small studies looking at different exercise regimens, and although it?s clear that exercise helps, it?s been less clear which type of exercise is helpful, and how much people need to do.
Researchers have now reviewed all these studies and combined the data, to get a more reliable overall picture.
What does the new study say?
Taking part in any 12-week exercise programme helped to improve blood glucose levels (measured by a blood test called HbA1c). Both aerobic and resistance exercise worked. Aerobic exercise (where you get out of breath and make your heart beat faster) worked best, but resistance exercise (such as weight training) was helpful too.
More important than the type of exercise is how long you exercise for. Programmes where people exercised for at least two and a half hours a week worked much better than programmes with less exercise time. Two and a half hours might sound like a lot, but you don?t have to do it all at once. It works out as just over 20 minutes a day.
How reliable is the research?
The researchers used a good method to calculate the results. However, the individual studies that went into the summary were generally of low quality. That might affect the results.
Where does the study come from?
The research was carried out by a team from two universities in Brazil. It was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which is owned by the American Medical Association.
What does this mean for me?
The results show that an exercise programme can make a real difference to how well you control your diabetes. However, you will probably still need to take diabetes medicine, if you already do so. It?s unlikely that exercise alone will make enough difference.You also need to eat a healthy diet.
What should I do now?
If you have diabetes and would like to take part in an exercise programme, talk to your doctor at your next appointment.

Source:
Umpierre D, Ribeiro P, Kramer C, et al. Physical activity advice only or structured exercise training and association with HbA1c levels in type 2 diabetes. Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). 2011; 305: 1790-1799.
May 04, 2011

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