Lifting weights may help to offset diabetes

Tuesday 7 August 2012

Lifting weights can significantly reduce the risk of diabetes in men, a study has found.

Custom byline text:

Regular weight training cut the chances of developing the most common form of the disease by up to 34%.

Adding aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking or running, can lead to even greater benefits, the research showed.

Scientists analysed data on 32,000 people for the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, which looked at lifestyle effects on health.Data on how much time the men spent working out in gyms and taking aerobic exercise was collected.In the study from 1990 to 2008, a total of 2278 participants developed Type 2 diabetes.The findings showed that even modest amounts of weight training may reduce diabetes risk.Participants were categorised according to whether they did between one and 59 minutes, 60 and 149 minutes, or at least 150 minutes of weight training a week.Weightlifting reduced diabetes risk by 12%, 25% and 34% respectively, compared with no training.The most active men who did more than 150 minutes of aerobics as well as at least 150 minutes of weight training per week cut their risk by 59%.Type 2 diabetes, which is closely linked to obesity and lifestyle, occurs when the body stops responding to the blood sugar regulating hormone insulin. An estimated 346 million people worldwide have the disease. More than two million people are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in the UK. About a million more are thought to have the disease without knowing it.The new findings are published in the latest online issue of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.Co-author Professor Frank Hu, a nutrition expert from the Harvard School of Public Health, said: "To achieve the best results for diabetes prevention, resistance training can be incorporated with aerobic exercise."

Contextual targeting label:

Health

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Lifting weights may help to offset diabetes

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED