More on Diabetes

If you're diabetic, exercise can reduce your blood sugar levels. It's as simple as that.
Exercise remains one of three cornerstones to fighting diabetes. The other two are diet and medication.
The authors of a 2001 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) article, "Effects of exercise on glycemic control and body mass in type 2 diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials," used statistical tools to examine previous studies on diabetes to reach the "cornerstone" conclusion.
Led by Normand G. Boule, the authors reviewed 2,700 articles sorted through a variety of medical databases looking to quantify the effects of exercise on hemoglobin levels, a measure of blood sugar, in persons with type two diabetes.
Exercise, however, does not need to reduce a person's weight in order for him or her to acheive the benefits of glycemic control, maintaining blood sugar at healthy levels.
In many of the studies the authors examined, there was no significant differences in HbA1c levels in those who exercised and those who didn't. But by combining the studies and running statistical tests the authors of the JAMA piece found different results. Those who participated in an exercise program showed lower HbA1c, blood sugar levels over time, than those who did not.
Their meta-analysis suggests that exercise training reduces HbA1c by about 0.66 percent, an amount that would be expected to greatly reduce the risk of diabetic complications.
The analysis also found that the effects on HbA1c of diet and exercise was similar to to the effects of exercise alone.
While exercise can lower blood sugar levels it doesn't necessarily lead to weight loss.
The reserach found that those who exercised and controlled their diet did not show greater weight loss than those who did not exercise or control their diet.
Thus, exercise should be viewed as beneficial on its own, not as an avenue to weight loss, the authors conclude. They also argue that exercise is a cornerstone to diabetes therapy. But not all exercise may be created equal. Much of the research to date has focused on cardiovascular programs. There has been little research conducted on the effects of resistance training, such as weight lifting, on diabetes.

Citation: Boule, N. G., Haddad, E., Kenny, G. P., Wells, G. A., & Sigal, R. J. (2001). Effects of exercise on glycemic control and body mass in type 2 diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials. Jama, 286(10), 1218-1227.