Every one of us should take exercise in one form or another, yet the health experts tell us that conservatively, only 30% of the UK population gets the recommended thirty minutes of daily physical activity, and 25% are actually not active at all! In fact, this static, inactive state is widely considered to be one of the main reasons for the surge of type 2 diabetes in the UK, because a combination of inactivity and obesity significantly encourages it!
The good news is, that it’s never too late to start moving, and exercise is certainly one of the easiest ways to start controlling diabetes. In cases of type 2 in particular, exercise can significantly lower the risk of heart disease, improve insulin sensitivity and promote balanced healthy weight loss.
Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes is increasing. People diagnosed with diabetes saw a 48% increase in their numbers between 1981 and 1995. Nearly all those new cases were Type 2 Diabetes, otherwise known as Adult-Onset Diabetes, the calibre that strikes middle-aged people. Type 2 symptoms can include increased appetite and thirst, a frequent need to urinate; feeling tired and irritable, an upset tummy, frequent tingling or loss of sensation in the hands and sometimes even blurred vision too.
The exact causes of Type 2 diabetes are still not completely understood and are considered to be rather complex, but ongoing research is moving at a reasonably respectable pace.
Nevertheless, its already been confirmed that one reason for the surge in type 2 diabetes is fatter waistlines and more deskbound, inactive lifestyles in the UK and other western developed countries. In the USA alone in the 1990s, obesity increased by 62% and clinically diagnosed diabetes by 51%; a dramatically negative shift in this unhealthy state of affairs!
Consequently, health experts are responding by encouraging type 2 diabetes sufferers to start taking advantage of the great benefits that exercise can provide for them. Without exercise, it’s fairly obvious that people have a much greater chance of becoming obese and once they become so, the odds on them succumbing to Type 2 Diabetes are very much greater.
Today, the National Health Service reports that over 78% of people with type 2 diabetes are clinically overweight. Therefore, those people who actually are significantly overweight need to wake up rather sharply and hear those alarm bells ringing! Whether they suffer with Type 2 diabetes or not, they really do need to start doing something positive and constructive in the activity and mobility department sooner rather than later, as it just might prove a future lifesaver for some!
Starting Out.
The first step with any exercise plan, especially if you are five star ‘couch potato’, is to go and see your GP. If it’s discovered you have heart risk factors, your medical practitioner may want to conduct a stress test to discover what specific levels of exercise are constructively safe for you.
A number of diabetic factors can also dictate what type of exercise program can be undertaken. Activities such as lifting weights, jogging, or high-impact aerobic classes are more risky for those with diabetic retinopathy of the eyes, as performing them could result in further blood vessel damage and even retinal detachment.
Regardless of being already active in a sport or working out regularly, diabetics would still benefit from a discussion with their GP about the length, manner and intensity of their exertions. This is because those taking insulin may well need to implement special precautions, in order to prevent hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar levels) occurring during their workout.
Begin Slowly.
Type 2 diabetes sufferers can benefit significantly from something as fundamentally simple as a brisk nightly walk, once or twice around the block. If you have no exercise history and have been pretty much a static, inactive person; starting slowly and increasing effort cautiously is very much the smart way forward. Taking your dog for a walk, raking the leaves off your lawn, taking the stairs at a gentle rate of ascent instead of the lift, or parking your car just that little bit further each time from your workplace to walk the extra distance…all of these simple measures really do help.
Even as little as 15 to 30 minutes of moderate daily exercise can make an enormous difference in blood glucose control and significantly decrease the risk of developing diabetic complications. Certainly the simplest way of getting the ‘ball rolling’ is with a basic walking program and all you need is a decent pair of training shoes and to begin with, a destination not too ambitiously far away!
Indeed, you certainly have no need whatsoever of health clubs and gyms to create and maintain a Diabetes free lifestyle. In essence, all you really need is a little common sense and some half-reasonable determination, coupled with the rather obviously intelligent desire to enjoy as long and healthy a life as possible!
