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The statistics are staggering. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 24 million Americans have diabetes and an estimated 57 million Americans have pre-diabetes. At least 10 million Americans are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. But, one way to prevent diabetes is to prevent obesity.
Exercise is an effective way of preventing both and complications due to type 2 diabetes.
Pre-diabetes is when blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, “recent research has shown that some long-term damage to the body, especially the heart and circulatory system, may already be occurring during pre-diabetes.”
The ADA suggests taking action to manage your blood glucose when you have pre-diabetes, to delay or prevent type 2 diabetes from ever developing.
While exercise is frequently touted as a way to promote weight loss and help with stress management, research also shows it also can help metabolize glucose. Statistics show that by adopting a healthy diet and daily exercise you can reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 58 percent.
According to the American Diabetes Association, some medications may delay the development of diabetes but, diet and exercise work better. The organization has found that 30 minutes a day of moderate physical activity, coupled with a 5-10% reduction in body weight, produced a 58% reduction in diabetes.
As mentioned above 30 minutes of cardiovascular activity, like walking, biking, swimming, etc., five times a week should be performed. The American Diabetes Association suggests, “If you haven't been very active recently, you can start out with 5 or 10 minutes a day and work up to more time each week. Or split up your activity for the day -- try a brisk 10-minute walk after each meal. If you're trying to lose weight, you may want to exercise more than 30 minutes a day.”
It is also important to incorporate some form of resistance training at least two times per week. Strength training, done several times a week, will also help raise your metabolic rate and lower body fat. It will not only help you build your strength and stamina, but help you improve your “life skills” such as walking up steps and shopping.
Adding a flexibility component such as stretching and Pilates or Yoga will help keep your joints flexible and reduce your chances of injury during other activities. Gentle stretching prior and following a workout for 5 to 10 minutes helps your body warm up and recover for aerobic activities such as walking or swimming. As always, consult your doctor before beginning an exercise program so you’re aware of your restrictions and contraindications.
Joanne Sgro is a Television Fitness Expert, Certified Personal Trainer and Sport Nutritionist. She is Certified in Pilates, Pre-natal/Post-Partum, Yoga and Senior Fitness. She specializes in Weight Loss, Post-Rehab and Post Cancer Training. Joanne's fitness plans and recipes are available globally on her website www.fitnessanswer.com. She resides in the Phoenix, AZ area with her fiance, where she runs her personal training business, Fitness Answer, LLC.
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This is great reminder on what people have to do to try to stop diabetes on its track. It really is more simple to follow your recommendations rather than do diabetes management that will require more than the exercise program we should undertake. And exercise could be a fun thing to do especially if you do it with a friend.
Evelyn Guzman
September 4, 2009 - 4:01amhttp://www.free-symptoms-of-diabetes-alert.com (If you want to visit, just click but if it doesn’t work, copy and paste it onto your browser.)
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