A new study has shown that taking time to do moderate to vigorous exercise during your free time can help lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This is true even if you have a physically demanding job.
In fact, the research found that people who spend their leisure time sitting—by watching TV or reading—even when they work in jobs that involve some physical work, have a higher chance of getting type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is a condition where the body does not make enough insulin or does not use insulin properly. When this happens, the sugar in the blood stays high. High blood sugar can cause many health problems, such as heart disease, kidney failure, and nerve damage.
The number of people with type 2 diabetes has more than doubled around the world over the past decade. This increase has become a major public health concern and a challenge for societies everywhere.
In the study, researchers looked at nearly 6,000 working adults between the ages of 30 and 60 in Denmark. They used information from a large Danish health database that has records of diabetes cases from 1996 until 2020.
Each person in the study went through a physical exam and filled out a questionnaire about the amount of exercise they did both at work and in their free time. The researchers then carefully checked the data in 2024, taking into account other factors that might affect the risk of diabetes.
The study found that people who take part in moderate to vigorous exercise during leisure time had a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Moderate to vigorous exercise means activities that get your heart rate up, like brisk walking, jogging, swimming, or cycling. This type of exercise, when done regularly during free time, showed a clear protective effect against the disease.
On the other hand, exercise that is done as part of a job did not seem to provide the same benefit. This is interesting because many health guidelines, such as those from the World Health Organization (WHO), do not separate exercise done at work from exercise done during leisure time.
The WHO recommends that people be active every day, but it does not make clear that the type of exercise may matter when it comes to reducing the risk of diseases like type 2 diabetes.
The researchers also looked at people who spent a lot of their leisure time being sedentary. This means they were sitting down for long periods, such as when watching television or reading, and not doing any exercise.
When this sedentary leisure behavior was combined with any kind of physical work, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes increased. The study suggests that simply having a physically active job does not protect you from type 2 diabetes if you do not also engage in exercise during your free time.
The lead author, Anna Stage, explained that the current guidelines might be sending a confusing message. The guidelines imply that any kind of physical activity, whether at work or during leisure time, is enough to help prevent diseases like type 2 diabetes.
However, the study clearly shows that only the exercise done during leisure time, especially when it is moderate to vigorous, makes a significant difference in reducing the risk.
This study adds important new information about how our daily activities can affect our long-term health. With type 2 diabetes on the rise globally, understanding that simple changes in lifestyle—like doing regular exercise during leisure time—can have a big impact is very encouraging.
It shows that even if you have a busy job that keeps you active, it is still important to set aside time for recreational exercise.
Review and Analysis: The study highlights the significant role that leisure-time physical activity plays in lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes. Unlike physical work, recreational exercise appears to offer clear benefits for controlling blood sugar levels and overall health.
The findings suggest that the current health guidelines, which do not distinguish between different types of physical activity, may need to be updated to emphasize the importance of exercise during leisure time.
This evidence supports the idea that making small lifestyle changes—such as incorporating more regular and vigorous exercise into one’s free time—could help reduce the growing global burden of type 2 diabetes. Overall, the research encourages individuals to look beyond their work routines and adopt active leisure habits to improve their long-term health outcomes.
The research findings can be found in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
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