The Benefits of Physical Activity

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Physical activity is one of the crucial elements in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes and its related morbidities (Morrato, Hill, Wyatt, Ghushchyan & Sullivan, 2007). Physical activity is necessary not only to manage or prevent chronic diseases but also for the general health and wellbeing. There is much evidence to support the benefits of physical activity as it has acute and chronic effects on carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism (De Feo, Di Loreto, Ranchelli, Fatone, Gambelunghe, Lucidi and Santeusanio, 2006).

Physical activity is the modifiable risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Several authors have endeavoured to encapsulate the evidence of advantages of physical activity in managing type 2 diabetes. The effectiveness of physical activity, especially higher-intensity aerobic exercise, in improving glycaemic control and reducing HbA1c has been shown in the meta-analyses of structured exercise in interventions in type 2 diabetes (Sigal, Kenny, Wasserman & Castaneda-Sceepa, 2004). In addition to that, there is evidence to suggest that regular exercise and cardiorespiratory fitness improve insulin sensitivity and glycaemic control, reduce the risk of developing diabetes, and reduce overall mortality in people with diabetes (Klein, Sheard, Pi-Sunyer, Daly, Wylie-Rosett, Kulkarni & Clark, 2004). A study derived on an ‘accelerometer based motion sensors’ depicts that, total physical activity is the key parameter positively correlated with insulin sensitivity. This was the first study to record the relation between physical activity and insulin sensitivity using the gold standard method for describing insulin sensitivity and an objective measure of exercise (Balkau et al., 2008). Some other studies show that, ...

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De Feo, P., Di Loreto, C., Ranchelli, A., Fatone, C., Gambelunghe, G., Lucidi, P., Santeusanio, F. (2006). Exercise and diabetes. Acta biomed, 77(1), 14-17. Retrieved from http://www.actabiomedica.it/data/2006/supp_1_2006/de_feo.pdf

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