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Brisk Walking's Benefits Prove Comparable With the Gym's

Staying fit doesn't have to involve a roomful of expensive gym equipment. Recent research suggests that a program of brisk walking, with some additional muscle strengthening, can help control type 2 diabetes just as effectively as more costly and complicated medical fitness programs.

Investigators at Maastricht University in the Netherlands reported the findings from research on 92 type 2 diabetes patients at the 43rd annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), held September 18–21 in Amsterdam.

Forty-three participants enrolled in a medical fitness program that included three weekly 30-minute sessions with an exercise trainer/physical therapist. Sessions involved resistance training of the upper and lower extremities and exercise on an elliptical exercise machine and a rowing machine. Trainers tailored the sessions to the performance capacity of each individual and increased the intensity of the exercise over time.

The rest of the individuals participated in a program of brisk walking three times a week in groups of 15–25 people, also supervised by an exercise trainer/physical therapist. The walking sessions were paced at 3–3.5 miles per hour and were coupled with resistance and floor exercise.

The programs lasted 12 months. Investigators measured participants' levels of glycated hemoglobin (A1C), blood pressure, and levels of lipids before they began the programs and after they completed them a year later. Participants' A1C levels, blood pressure, and lipid profiles all improved after the exercise programs, but there were no statistically significant differences between the exercise groups.

"Low-cost, group-based programs of brisk walking are equally effective in improving diabetes control as expensive medical fitness programs," says Stephan F.E. Praet, MD, of Maastricht University's Nutrition and Toxicology Research Institute, who presented the research at EASD.

Cardiometabolic Risk Web Site Launched

The International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk, which is affiliated with University of Laval in Quebec and brings a range of clinical disciplines together to fight the worldwide epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, has launched a Web site dedicated to the clinical aspects of cardiometabolic risk and its spread around the globe.

Cardiometabolic risk factors include overweight, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.

The new Web site, www.cardiometabolic-risk.org, provides information on the latest cardiometabolic research to health care professionals and the general public. The site explains the concepts of cardiometabolic risk in lay terms and offers detailed information on assessment and management that can be downloaded in multiple languages.

The Web site was formally unveiled at the 43rd annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, held September 18–21 in Amsterdam.

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Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Goldfarb, B. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Goldfarb, B. Social Bookmarking                What's this?