You hear about the importance of diet and nutrition all the time when you have diabetes. It’s true that what you eat and how you eat is essential to controlling diabetes. But regular physical activity is just as beneficial as diet. In fact, regular exercise is one of the most effective tools in diabetes management.
What is the difference between physical activity and exercise?
Physical activity includes all movement that increases energy use. It doesn’t need to have a structured or formal plan: you can make it part of your everyday routine—walking to the bus stop, dancing at a party on the weekend, cutting the grass or chasing your grandchildren.
On the other hand, exercise is planned, structured physical activity.
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There are three categories of exercise: aerobic exercise, strength training and stretching.
- Aerobic exercise is an exercise that increases your heart rate and your rate of breathing. When you exercise aerobically, your body uses oxygen as it breaks down fat and glucose for energy. This type of exercise requires you to move the large muscles, which boost the heart rate. Aerobic exercise includes aerobic videotapes, riding a stationary bike, running or walking on a treadmill, taking an aerobics or water aerobics class or using a stair climber.
- Strength training sometimes known as resistance training, helps you build strong bones and muscles. It includes exercises with free weights, weight machines, body weight, or elastic resistance bands.
- Stretching increases muscle and joint flexibility and range of motion so you can move your joints and limbs fully. Exercises that focus on flexibility include yoga, tai chi and Pilates.
What are the benefits of exercise?
Regular exercise can lower your blood glucose—also called blood sugar, blood pressure, and bad cholesterol while increasing your good cholesterol. It improves your body's ability to use insulin and contributes to weight loss which might allow you to decrease the amount of medication you need. Exercise also lowers your risk of heart disease and stroke. When you exercise regularly, you have more energy, less stress and a clearer mind.
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How does exercise effect blood sugar?
In general, low- to moderate-intensity aerobic activities, such as walking or jogging, promote a decrease in blood sugar during the activity, while high-intensity aerobic or anaerobic activities, such as sprint running or sprint cycling, can cause a boost in blood sugar. Activities that combine some anaerobic and aerobic activities have been found to have the best effect on blood sugar levels.
How much exercise should you do?
According to the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) 2016 Physical Activity/Exercise and Diabetes Position Statement adults with diabetes should engage in moderate-intensity aerobic exercise at least 150 minutes per week. Physical activity should be spread out at least three days per week with no more than two consecutive days without exercise. In the absence of contraindications, adults with type 2 diabetes should do resistance training at least twice per week.
The ADA recommendations also call for three or more minutes of light activity, such as walking, leg extensions or overhead arm stretches, every 30 minutes during prolonged sedentary activities for improved blood sugar management, particularly for people with type 2 diabetes.
Sedentary activities involve prolonged sitting, such as sitting at a desk on the computer, sitting in a meeting or watching TV.
How should you prepare for exercise?
While there are many benefits associated with physical activity, there are potential risks as well. If you have never exercised, or it has been a long time since you last worked out, you should see your doctor before you start an exercise program. Your doctor
will give you information specific to your condition. For instance, if you have retinopathy, eye damage from diabetes you may be told to avoid exercises like weight lifting as this can cause further damage to the eye.
