If you have type 2 diabetes, walking
can be very helpful for you as a way to lower your blood glucose
level. When is the best time to go for a walk to gain the benefit of
walking?
According to a recent study, a short
walk after eating may help lower blood glucose levels more than
exercising at other times of the day. A measurement of blood glucose
called postprandial glycemia, which has been linked with heart
disease risk, averaged 12 percent lower when study participants took
a walk after eating, compared with those who exercised at other
times. The largest drop in postprandial glycemia, 22 percent, was achieved by walking after dinner, the study authors found.
"If you have type 2 diabetes,
there is a guideline to be active for at least 150 minutes a week,"
said study author Andrew Reynolds, a researcher at the University of
Otago, in New Zealand. But, he added, "the benefits we
observed due to physical activity after meals suggest that current
guidelines should be amended to specify after-meal activity,
particularly when meals contain a substantial amount of
carbohydrates," he said. "Consider walking after
you eat as part of your daily routine," he added.
However, one U.S. diabetes specialist
offered a caveat on that advice. Exercise is indeed part of good
management and care for those with type 2 diabetes, said Dr. Joel
Zonszein, director of the Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore
Medical Center in New York City. But, he urged caution about the
benefits of exercising right after meals.
Because heart disease is common among
those with type 2 diabetes, "we need to be careful in
encouraging exercise after a meal, as the demands on the heart
increase with meals," he explained. "This is
especially important in people with heart disease, as diversion of
blood from the coronary or carotid arteries to the gut is not always
best for these patients." The study findings were published
Oct. 17 in the journal Diabetologia.
In the study, Reynolds and colleagues
had 41 people with type 2 diabetes walk a total of 150 minutes a
week. In the first phase of the study, participants walked for 30
minutes daily whenever they wanted. In the second phase, 30 days
after the first phase, participants were told to take a 10-minute
walk no later than five minutes after each meal. During both phases,
blood glucose was monitored. Walking after meals lowered blood
glucose levels more effectively among the participants, the study
found.
Improvements in controlling blood
glucose with exercise have been shown by many trials, Zonszein noted,
but exercise and good lifestyle are often not enough. "In
type 2 diabetes, a combination of good lifestyles and proper
medications is important for successful outcomes," he said.
In a second study in the same issue of
the journal, British researchers analyzed the findings of 23 studies
on the relationship between physical activity and incidence of type 2
diabetes. In all, these studies included more than 1.2 million
people. Among these participants, more than 82,000 developed type 2
diabetes, the researchers reported.
The researchers found that those who
exercised at least 150 minutes a week had a 26 percent lower risk of
developing type 2 diabetes. The results also suggested that
exercising more than the recommended 150 minutes had even greater
benefits in reducing the risk of diabetes, cutting it by more than
half.
The British team was led by Andrea
Smith, who's with the Health Behavior Research Center at University
College London.
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