We all know exercise is good for us, but when it comes to fighting off diseases like diabetes, hitting the gym might be more powerful than we thought.
A new study shows that losing weight and exercising can do wonders for people at risk for Type 2 diabetes.
What Was the Study About?
Let’s break it down. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis wanted to see how weight loss and exercise together could help people who are obese and have something called “prediabetes.”
Prediabetes means your blood sugar is higher than normal, but not high enough to be called diabetes—yet.
It’s like a red warning light on your car dashboard; if you don’t do something about it, you could end up with Type 2 diabetes.
Why does this matter? Well, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tells us that 1 in 3 American adults—around 96 million people—have prediabetes.
What’s worse, most of them don’t even know they have it. More than 37 million people in the U.S. have diabetes, and over 40% of these folks are obese, which makes diabetes more likely.
How the Study Worked
The team of scientists recruited 16 volunteers. These folks were not just a little overweight; they were obese, meaning they had a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher.
BMI is a number calculated from your height and weight, and a score of 30 or higher is considered obese. They also had prediabetes, which is like being on the edge of a cliff for developing full-blown diabetes.
The study divided these volunteers into two groups. One group focused just on diet and successfully lost 10% of their body weight. The other group did the same but also exercised a few days a week.
The researchers wanted to see which group would have a better reaction to insulin, a hormone that helps our bodies use or store sugar from the food we eat.
The Eye-Opening Results
Here’s where it gets exciting. The group that combined exercise with weight loss saw their bodies respond to insulin much better than those who only lost weight. In simple terms, their bodies got way better at processing sugar.
This is a big deal because poor insulin response is a major factor that leads to Type 2 diabetes and other health problems like fatty liver disease and bad cholesterol levels.
The study lead, Dr. Samuel Klein, said that exercise didn’t really help people lose more weight, but it did something even more valuable—it made their bodies better at handling sugar and fat.
According to him, the study shows that exercise should always be a part of any plan to lose weight and get healthier, especially for those at risk of diabetes.
Why This Matters to You
If you’ve been told you’re at risk for diabetes or you’re carrying around extra pounds, this study is a game-changer. It’s telling us that you can’t just focus on the scale; you also need to get moving.
Exercise will not only help you feel better but could also keep you from developing serious health problems down the line.
So the next time you think about skipping the gym or taking an extra slice of cake, remember: a bit of sweat today could save you a lot of trouble tomorrow.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about the key cause of type 2 diabetes, and this eating habit could help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
For more information about diabetes, please see recent studies that cruciferous vegetables may help reverse kidney damage in diabetes, and results showing Vitamin D and this hormone may prevent heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
The study was published in Nature Metabolism.
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