Physical Wellness

Diabetics Benefit Greatly from Exercising

By Cheri Cheng | Update Date: Jul 05, 2014 10:50 AM EDT

People know that exercising is extremely vital for one's health. In a new review, researchers examined the effects of exercise on diabetics. They found even more evidence that exercise, particularly aerobic exercise mixed with strength training, can greatly improve diabetics' blood sugar control.

For this study, the researchers examined a review of 14 published studies that included over 900 people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The studies had examined the effects of different types of exercises on the patients' blood sugar control, blood fats, blood pressure and weight. The team found that the combination of aerobic exercises and strength training had the greatest effects on diabetics. The researchers also discovered that this type of exercise helped improve the diabetics' levels of good cholesterol.

"Combined aerobic and resistance training can be recommended as part of a lifestyle program in the management of type 2 diabetes wherever possible," concluded the team headed by Lukas Schwingshackl of the University of Vienna reported by WebMD.

"Both aerobic and resistance activity are capable of reducing blood glucose," added Dr. Gerald Bernstein, director of the Diabetes Management Program at the Friedman Diabetes Institute, part of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. "Resistance training builds muscles and thereby increases glucose utilization through increased muscle mass [while] aerobic training burns glucose on the spot...most importantly, some type of exercise regularly performed makes a big difference in management of blood glucose and reduced risk for complications."

The study was published in the journal, Diabetologia.

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