The Exercise That Cuts Diabetes Risk: Brief, Rigorous

Filed in archive Exercise , Research on January 30, 2009

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A brief but rigorous exercise significantly affects the body's ability to process sugars and fight diabetes. Such were the findings reported at the BMC Endocrine Disorders by scientists from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.

They found that insulin sensitivity improved significantly in the two-week study.

Regular exercise can help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Many people feel they simply don't have the time to follow current exercise guidelines, and that's unfortunate, he says, because his team found that "doing a few intense muscle exercises, each lasting only about 30 seconds, dramatically improves your metabolism in just two weeks." Current recommendations include 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity activity a week.

His team found that "low-volume, high-intensity training ... substantially improved both insulin action and glucose clearance in otherwise sedentary young males."

Indeed exercise is of prime importance in managing diabetes.

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