Living Well with Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects a large part of the population in Australia and around the world, creating a huge burden on those living with the disease and their carers.
By educating yourself and others around you, you may be able to take steps to prevent or slow down progression of type 2 diabetes if you are at risk.
While there is currently no cure for either strain of diabetes, anyone with the condition can of course live an enjoyable life by learning about their diagnosis and effectively managing it. Many studies show that adopting an active lifestyle regime is one of the best ways to enhance insulin action and manage your diabetes.
Treatment Options
Over time, most people with Type 2 diabetes will also need medication to manage their condition. Of course, medication is just one part of diabetes management, and the importance of other lifestyle changes should not be overlooked! Introducing an exercise program and eating a healthy diet are essential for managing diabetes effectively.
The Role of Exercise
Exercise is an integral part of living well with Type 2 diabetes. Not only does exercise naturally help the insulin work more effectively, it also lowers your blood pressure which reduces the risk of heart disease. Exercise is effective as it improves sugar control, reduces risk of cardiovascular disease, contributes to weight loss, and improves well-being.
Aerobic Exercise Benefits
Moderate to high intensity of aerobic activity are associated with substantially lower cardiovascular and overall mortality risks in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes for a number of reasons.
The American Diabetes Association also reports that aerobic exercise contributes to improvements in:
Insulin sensitivity
Compliance and reactivity of blood vessels
Lung, immune, and heart function
Resistance Exercise Benefits
Resistance training is important for those diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes because the condition may accelerate the decline in muscle strength and function. This is important because muscle strength makes actions like lifting heavy loads less tiring and reduces the risk of injury and fractures by increasing bone density. Of note, a combination of aerobic and resistance training appears to be superior than doing either alone.
The American Diabetes Association states that resistance training benefits includes:
Improvements in body composition, strength, and physical function
Mental health
Bone mineral density
Insulin sensitivity
Blood pressure
Cardiovascular health
Specific benefits for individuals with type 2 diabetes includes improvements in:
Sugar control
Insulin resistance
Blood pressure
Strength
Lean body mass (calculated as the difference between total body weight and body fat weight)
If any exercises feel uncomfortable, talk to a healthcare professional who can make sure you are doing them properly and that they are appropriate for you.
Other Recommendations
In addition, the Royal Australian College of General Practice advises that;
All adults, and particularly those with type 2 diabetes, should decrease the amount of time spent in daily sedentary behaviour.
Reducing sedentary behaviour by interspersing long periods of sitting with just 3 minutes of light walking, for example, can improve glycemic control.
Prolonged sitting should be interrupted with bouts of light activity every 30 min for blood glucose benefits, at least in adults with type 2 diabetes.
Some physical activity, however simple, is better than none at all
Whilst beneficial, the recommendations above should be used in addition to, not instead of, increased structured exercise and incidental movement regimes.
Support for Australians with Type 2 diabetes
The number of Australians with diabetes is on the rise, with Type 2 diabetes accounting for 85% of all diabetes. Currently, Diabetes Australia reports that 80 Australians develop diabetes every day. That’s one person every five minutes.
Consequently, many support and education networks have been set up. Diabetes Australia is an excellent resource which has information on how to live with diabetes, where to go for support, and provides links to resources where you can get trusted, additional information.
REFERENCES
RACGP HANDI. EXERCISE: PREVENTING BONE LOSS AND FRACTURE RISK. DEC 2016. HTTPS://WWW.RACGP.ORG.AU/DOWNLOAD/DOCUMENTS/HANDI/EXERCISE-PREVENTING-BONE-LOSS-AND-FRACTURE-RISK.PD
BECK BR, DALY RM, SINGH MAF, TAAFFE DR, EXERCISE AND SPORTS SCIENCE AUSTRALIA (ESSA) POSITION STATEMENT ON EXERCISE PRESCRIPTION FOR THE PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF OSTEOPOROSIS, JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND MEDICINE IN SPORT (2016), HTTP://DX.DOI.ORG/10.1016/J.JSAMS.2016.10.001
NATIONAL OSTEOPOROSIS FOUNDATION. OSTEOPOROSIS EXERCISE FOR STRONG BONES. HTTPS://WWW.NOF.ORG/PATIENTS/TREATMENT/EXERCISESAFE-MOVEMENT/OSTEOPOROSIS-EXERCISE-FOR-STRONG-BONES/
AUTHOR
ELLIE GRIFFIN, RHEA PSERECKIS
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