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A 30-minute walk a day may keep diabetes away
March 4, 1998
Web posted at: 3:16 p.m. EST (2016 GMT)CHICAGO (CNN) -- Walking as little as 30 minutes a day may help the body improve the use of its own insulin and ward off diabetes, researchers say.
"Our studies showed that, no matter what the activity is, increased activity is related to improved insulin sensitivity," said Elizabeth Mayer-Davis of the University of South Carolina.
"This is good news. It means that if nothing else, walking can improve your health. You don't have to go to a gym unless you want to," she added.
Insulin sensitivity involves the body's ability to store food for energy. When the body cannot use its own insulin effectively, insulin resistance -- and possibly diabetes -- develops. Diabetes occurs when the body is insulin-deficient, becomes impaired in its capacity to use insulin, or both.
The findings, published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association, came from studying 1,400 women ages 40 to 69, some of whom had normal blood sugar levels and others who had a mild form of diabetes.
Researchers found that subjects who exercise moderately and regularly were significantly less likely to have impaired insulin-using capacity than sedentary subjects.
Moderate physical activity includes walking briskly, climbing stairs, gardening and doing many household chores.
Mayer-Davis, who led the researchers, said the finding is important because people with diabetes are two to four times more likely to develop heart disease, and 75 percent of diabetics die of heart disease.
"Adults need to participate in at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days of the week," she said.
"These are guidelines that already have been established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine ... any kind of physical activity is a good thing."
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
- American Medical Association
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Home Page
- American Sports Medicine Institute
- The Diabetes Information Page
- International Diabetes Web Site
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