Of the 30 million Americans with diabetes, 90% to 95% have type 2, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a new study, researchers found building muscle strength may be one way to lower risk for the disease.
The study of more than 4,500 adults found moderate muscle mass reduced the risk for type 2 diabetes by 32%.
The benefits were independent of cardiorespiratory fitness, and higher levels of muscle strength did not provide additional protection.
The research was conducted by a team at Iowa State University.
The current study is one of the first to look at the risk of type 2 diabetes and muscle strength, separate from cardiorespiratory fitness.
Participants ranged in age from 20 to 100 years old. They completed chest and leg presses to measure muscle strength.
The team found moderate strength reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes regardless of lifestyle choices such as smoking and drinking, or health issues such as obesity and high blood pressure.
While several factors contribute to muscle strength, resistance exercise is important. Information on resistance exercise was not available for most participants, with the exception of a small group, which showed a moderate correlation between muscle strength and frequency or days per week of resistance exercise.
Other research has found resistance training improves glucose levels and reduces waist circumference — an indicator of excess fat associated with type 2 diabetes and other health issues.
The results are encouraging because even small amounts of resistance exercise may be helpful in preventing type 2 diabetes by improving muscle strength.
However, it is difficult to recommend an optimal level as there are no standardized measurements for muscle strength.
The team says more work is needed to determine the proper dose of resistance exercise, which may vary for different health outcomes and populations.
One author of the study is DC (Duck-chul) Lee, an associate professor of kinesiology.
The study is published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
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