2023-06-17 18:00:00
Diabetes is a public health problem of great magnitude worldwide, since it currently affects approximately 540 million people around the world. This chronic disease, known medically as diabetes mellitusis characterized by elevated blood glucose levels and can have serious health consequences for those who suffer from it.
It is important to note that there are different types of diabetes, the most common being type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition in which the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the beta cells of the pancreas, responsible for the production of insulin. As a result, the body is unable to produce this vital hormone to regulate blood glucose levels. It usually manifests in childhood or adolescence and requires the external administration of insulin for life to achieve adequate glycemic control.
In contrast, the type 2 diabetes It constitutes the most common variant, covering approximately 90% of all diagnosed cases. In this condition, the body develops resistance to insulin or does not produce enough of this hormone to maintain normal blood glucose levels.
Diabetes currently affects 540 million people worldwide.
As we said, while type 1 diabetes is a genetic “lottery”, type 2 diabetes is closely related to controllable risk factors such as obesity, lack of physical activity or poor diet, and unlike type 1 diabetes, the latter might -in many cases- be prevented thanks to lifestyle changes, such as a healthy diet and regular physical activity.
Now, however, a new study from the University of Sydney, published in the specialized magazine British Journal of Sports Medicine, has just concluded that, beyond controlling the disease and beneficially influencing those who suffer from it, physical exercise can reduce the risk of developing type II diabetes, even in those people with a high genetic risk of developing it.
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To reach this conclusion, the team led by Dr. Melody Ding monitored, thanks to a device on the wrist, the physical activity of more than 59,000 people over a period of 7 years. After crossing these data with a registry of the genetic markers associated with an increased risk of developing type II diabetes found that higher levels of total physical activity, especially if it was of moderate to vigorous intensity, was strongly associated with a lower risk of developing the disease.
An hour of daily exercise reduces the chances of developing type II diabetes by 74%
Specifically, those with a high genetic risk score had a 2.4 times higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those with a low genetic risk score. However, the study showed that an hour of moderate exercise – such as brisk walking – a day decreased the risk of developing the disease by 74% compared to those subjects who led a sedentary life.
In fact, another of the most striking conclusions of the investigation is that those Participants with high genetic risk but in the most physically active category actually had a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those with low genetic risk but in the least active category.
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“We can’t control our genetic risk or our family history,” says Ding, “but this finding is very positive and promising, because through an active lifestyle anyone can significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.” concludes.
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