Physical Activity

A new study suggests that people who spend time walking or even just standing instead of sitting may be at lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

As an exercise physiologist, I first and foremost focus on the physical activity part for management of blood glucose levels, often stating that being active will increase insulin action, lower blood glucose levels, and make diabetes management easier. In reality, not all of those benefits are fully evident in many cases. In fact, they usually cannot be counted on unless you take into account myriad other factors that can have an equally—if not more—dramatic effect on blood glucose management.

by Sheri Colberg, Ph.D., FACSM
My last article focused on why glucose was the best short-term treatment for hypoglycemia, but this time I want to switch gears and talk about why treating lows is not as straight-forward as you would think. It mainly stems from the fact that sometimes hypoglycemia can be very difficult to treat effectively and even hard to prevent in many cases, particularly related to physical activity.

Updated guidelines suggest short periods of movement every 30 minutes.

A study published in Diabetologia in October 2016 discussed whether exercise training is more important than other lifestyle changes in preventing type 2 diabetes (and possibly reversing prediabetes). Honestly, I was very heartened by its findings.

Using data from more than 1 million participants across four continents, researchers measured the precise benefits of exercise.

Every minute of high intensity physical activity counts in the war against weight gain.

Regular physical activity is a cornerstone of diabetes management and can drop blood sugars by 12% if done after dinner.

International study explores the role of physical exertion, anger, and emotional upset in triggering acute myocardial infarction.

Why are people inactive, especially when they have diabetes and know how much physical activity could benefit them? If they’re older, overweight or obese, arthritic, or dealing with other physical or joint limitations, they may not feel capable of walking for exercise, and they may not have easy access to other types of activities. This may be particularly true of adults with nerve damage in their feet or arthritic knees for whom walking for exercise is just not feasible. Enter the Corratec Life Bike, particularly designed with adults with diabetes in mind.