The guidelines also emphasize specific types of exercise — aerobic exercise, resistance training, flexibility and balance training and general lifestyle activity. They also elaborate on how each type of exercise helps patients.
For example, aerobic workouts benefit type 2 diabetes patients by improving blood sugar control, controlling weight and reducing heart disease risk. Regular aerobic and resistance training offers health benefits for people with type 1 diabetes, including improved insulin sensitivity, heart fitness and muscle strength.
There are also activity suggestions for women with gestational diabetes, who should do aerobic and resistance exercise. Also, people with prediabetes are urged to combine increased physical activity with healthy lifestyle changes to prevent progression to type 2 diabetes.
Supervised, structured exercise programs are more beneficial for diabetes patients, according to the guidelines, which also outline how patients should monitor their blood sugar levels during physical activity.
The guidelines, based on a review of more than 180 studies and the input of diabetes and exercise experts, were published online Oct. 25 in the journal Diabetes Care.