Type 2 diabetes is one of the fastest-growing health problems in the world. It develops when the body no longer uses insulin effectively, causing sugar to build up in the bloodstream.
Over time, high blood sugar can damage the heart, kidneys, eyes, nerves, and blood vessels. Although medicines can help control the disease, preventing it before it starts is always the best option.
Doctors have long known that regular physical activity lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes. Walking, cycling, swimming, and other aerobic exercises improve heart health and help the body use insulin more efficiently.
However, scientists have become increasingly interested in another form of exercise called resistance training, also known as strength training. This includes lifting weights, using resistance bands, weight machines, or even body-weight exercises such as push-ups and squats.
A new study suggests that strength training may be one of the most effective ways to lower diabetes risk, especially when people continue doing it over many years. The research was published in JAMA Network Open.
The researchers followed more than 143,000 adults in the United States for up to 19 years. During this long follow-up period, they recorded how often participants performed resistance training and monitored who later developed type 2 diabetes.
The results showed a clear pattern. Adults who completed at least two hours of resistance training each week had a 27% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than people who never performed strength training.
The greatest benefit was seen in people who maintained their resistance training throughout middle age. These participants reduced their diabetes risk by an impressive 42%.
The study also found that the healthiest participants did not rely on only one habit. The lowest diabetes risk was seen in people who combined regular strength training with the recommended amount of aerobic exercise while also limiting sedentary activities such as spending many hours watching television.
Dr. Shirin Jaggi, an endocrinologist at Northwell Health who reviewed the findings, said the study reinforces the important role of exercise in diabetes prevention. She noted that consistency appears to matter even more than doing very large amounts of exercise. Once people build a regular routine, keeping it up over time may provide the greatest health benefits.
Strength training offers many advantages beyond diabetes prevention. It helps build muscle, maintain bone strength, improve balance, increase metabolism, and support healthy aging. Because muscle tissue uses glucose for energy, having more muscle may help the body control blood sugar more effectively.
The researchers, led by Dr. Tianyue Zhang of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, believe resistance training deserves a larger role in diabetes prevention guidelines.
This was a very large prospective study with nearly two decades of follow-up, making the findings highly reliable. However, because it was an observational study, it cannot prove that resistance training alone caused the lower diabetes risk.
Other healthy lifestyle habits may also have contributed. Even so, the consistent results strongly support adding regular strength training to an active lifestyle to help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
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Source: Zhejiang University School of Medicine.
