Many people think diabetes is a genetic disease that is not the whole story. For type 2 diabetes your environment plays an important role, by environment I mean how much exercise do you accumulate on a daily basis and diet (how many ring dings do you really eat). Your lifestyle plays a more dominant role in preventing this disease than your genetics. Diabetes is a genetic disease; if you are predisposed genetically simple choices in everyday life can prevent this dreaded disease.
Diabetes has reached endemic proportions, affecting 170 million individuals worldwide. An unfortunate consequence is a weakening of the body’s insulin regulation, elevated insulin and blood sugar are clinical features of non-insulin dependant diabetes. When insulin function starts to break down, blood sugar levels rise leading to diabetes and pre-diabetes. Regular exercise increases insulin sensitivity so that blood sugar can be transported to the cells of the liver, muscles, and adipose tissue to be used for energy. Improvements in blood sugar metabolism have also been documented with strength training.
The mechanisms for improvements are not fully understood, it appears that regular aerobic and strength training exercises do offer protection in the development in the onset of type 2 diabetes.
