To Your Health
December, 2017 (Vol. 11, Issue 12)
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Give Diabetes a 1-2 Punch With Exercise

By Editorial Staff

As opposed to type 2 diabetes, which the Mayo Clinic states "develops when the body becomes resistant to insulin or when the pancreas stops producing enough insulin," with excess weight and inactivity both seen as contributing factors, type 1 diabetes is characterized by the complete absence of insulin production. Regardless of the type, however, exercise appears to be an important variable in reducing symptom severity and the devastating complications.

A new study in the journal Diabetes Care supports the notion that exercise is valuable for type 1 diabetics, with study participants who exercised the most during the study period more likely to still be alive after more than a decade compared to study participants who spent little or no time exercising during that time period. In fact, type 1 diabetics who exercised were less likely to die during the 11-year time frame even if they had kidney disease, a life-threatening complication of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes - Copyright – Stock Photo / Register Mark But exercise isn't just for type 1 diabetics. For type 2 diabetics, the value of exercise is also clear, with numerous studies pointing to weight control and physical activity as ways to not only control the condition and increase survival odds, but even prevent it from developing in the first place. That's because, as the Mayo Clinic says, "excess weight and inactivity seem to be contributing factors."

So give diabetes a 1-2 punch with exercise: one punch for type 1 and one punch for type 2! Talk to your doctor about diabetes prevention and management, and how exercise and proper diet can play a valuable role.