Physical Activity

Is moderate exercising helping or hurting cardiovascular outcomes?

For many years, I have focused on aspects of lifestyle and health management that can enhance quality of life, especially when living with a chronic disease like diabetes, rather than simply on living a long time (longevity). Much of my motivation is derived from the personal experience of watching my maternal grandmother suffer through six (long) years of severe disability related to cardiovascular complications of diabetes starting at the age of 70 that left her unable to feed herself or communicate, bed bound, and with almost no quality of life for her final six years of life. Really, what is the point of simply being alive when you’re really not experiencing life under such conditions?

Exercise shown to have some AFib-specific benefits.

Higher level of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) over two decades was shown to reduce risk for developing prediabetes and T2, even after adjusting for changes in BMI.

A recent study published in Obesity in May 2016 reported very discouraging findings for a group of participants who had lost weight on “The Biggest Loser” (TBL) reality TV show: not only did almost all of them regain a significant amount of weight over the 6-year period following the show, but they also had lower resting metabolic rates than expected for their body weights, even six years later. With the way the media ran with this story, it will not be a surprise if everyone just gives up staying thinner and blames excess weight on a faulty, and unchangeable, metabolism.

Using a continuous glucose monitor helps those with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes to self-regulate their exercise.

To combat the negative effects of too much sitting, standing desks have been rising in popularity. But does the science support their supposed benefits?

You finally decide to get active to help manage your diabetes better or to prevent type 2 altogether, and once you’ve hit your stride, you get an injury that puts you back on the couch! Getting injured from being active happens often enough that you need to know how to prevent and treat injuries so you can stay on track. The best medicine is prevention, so trying to prevent injuries before they happen is the best way to avoid having to take time off from exercising and sidetracking your fitness program.

Are some leisure-time activities more helpful than others in lowering blood glucose?

I recently received an email from a person with type 1 diabetes living in Denmark (Guido) whose physician believes in prescribing many medications to manage cholesterol and high blood pressure in anyone with diabetes, regardless of need. Guido has been taking a statin (Atorvastatin, brand name Lipitor), along with at least four others for blood pressure control. He used to take Simvastitin (Zocor), but a year prior had been changed to Atorvastatin (and his dose doubled). That’s when his problems with exercise began.