Lifting Weights May Help Prevent Diabetes
Weight training may help prevent Type 2 diabetes, according to a recent study from
The Archives of Internal Medicine.
After analyzing data on 32,002 men who did not have diabetes, heart conditions and cancer at the start of the study, researchers found 2,278 of them were diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes over an 18-year period. The more weight training they did, the less likely they were to develop diabetes, with risk dropping by 13 percent for every 60 minutes a week of weight training. Men who regularly did at least 150 minutes a week of weight training had a 34 percent reduction in risk for diabetes, compared with those who did no weight training. Men who combined weight training with moderate aerobic exercise, spending 150 minutes a week on each type of physical activity, achieved the greatest benefit, a risk 59 percent lower than for men who did neither, according to this article from The Washington Post.