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Exercise
Alone May Thwart Pre-Diabetic Syndrome
A small study suggests that sedentary adults who get a few
hours of exercise each week and don't lose weight may still
cut their risk of developing a pre-diabetic condition called
insulin resistance syndrome.
In insulin resistance syndrome, a person loses his or her
ability to use this key blood-sugar-regulating hormone effectively.
More and more people--children as well as adults--are developing
the condition as the population eats more and exercises
less.
Left untreated, the syndrome can develop into type 2 diabetes
and increase the risk of heart disease.
While previous studies have touted exercise's potential
to reduce the severity of illness in people already diagnosed
with type 2 diabetes or heart disease, little evidence exists
on whether or not physical activity reduces the risk of
the syndrome that precedes these illnesses, according to
the study published in the March issue of Diabetes Care.
To investigate, Dr. Glen E. Duncan of the University of
Florida in Gainesville and colleagues followed 18 sedentary
but otherwise healthy men and women for six months after
putting them on an individually tailored exercise regime
of walking for 30 minutes between three and seven days a
week.
All of the participants were told not to change their diet
or alter their body weight during the study.
After six months, Duncan's team evaluated insulin sensitivity
and levels of blood fats like cholesterol and compared the
findings to measurements taken before the start of the study.
Exercise, without weight loss, was found to increase insulin
sensitivity, the authors report.
"Even modest amounts of exercise in the absence of
weight or abdominal fat loss improves markers of glucose
and fat metabolism in previously sedentary, middle-aged
adults, a group particularly at risk for type 2 diabetes,"
the authors conclude.
SOURCE: Diabetes Care 2003;26:557-562.
Article
Source: Reuters Health
Article Author: N/A
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