Aerobic exercise steadies diabetes

Charlyn Fargo, Contributor

If you are diabetic or prediabetic, one of the best things you can do to lower blood sugars is to sign up for a structured exercise class like aerobics or resistance training. That's the finding of a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study found aerobics or resistance training was associated with a greater reduction in Hemoglobin A1C levels for patients with diabetes, compared with patients in a control group, and longer weekly exercise duration was associated with a greater decrease in those levels.

We have always known that exercise plays a role in reduced blood sugars, but this study defined just how long that exercise needs to be.

The researchers, associated with the Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre in Brazil, found that structured exercise for more than 150 minutes per week reduced Hemoglobin A1C levels by 0.89 per cent, compared to 0.36 per cent less for under 150 minutes. Researchers looked at previously conducted trials of at least 12 weeks for 8,538 people.

The 150-minute guideline follows the current guideline recommendations of 150 minutes per week.

- American Medical Association