By, Kathryn Gentile, B.S. Exercise Physiology
I don’t think it can be stressed enough, physical activity is incredibly important for everyone.
Recently, an article evaluated Body Mass Index(BMI) and physical activity and the relation to mortality risk. BMI is derived from the mass and height of a person. The article states that if an adult is physically fit, no matter their BMI, will have lower mortality risk.
The researchers at Johns Hopkins school of medicine assessed mortality during a mean of 10 years among 8,528 adults with diabetes and their fitness levels. They divided the groups into high fitness, moderate fitness, and low fitness based METS(represents intensity of the exercise). The researchers also assessed BMI when the exercise test took place and defined obesity as a BMI of at least 30, overweight as a BMI of 25 to 29.9 and normal weight as a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 (standard classification chart).
For participants with obesity vs. those with normal weight, mortality risk was reduced for all in both low and moderate fitness. Mortality risk also was reduced for participants with high fitness of normal weight, overweight and obesity vs. participants of the same BMI with low fitness. In addition, mortality risk was reduced by 24% for each 1 MET increase in exercise intensity.
How does excercise help people with diabetes?
- Exercise helps to lower Alc, improves cardiovascular health
- Exercise helps to lower LDL cholesterol(bad cholesterol) and triglycerides
- Exercise helps to increase HDL(good cholesterol)
- Exercise helps to improve mental health
- Exercise allows your cells to use glucose more efficiently and more.
Whether you’re losing weight or not with your exercise program, you are improving your health.
Our team is highly skilled at helping people set up a safe, effective exercise program and managing blood sugars during physical activity. If you are interested, please give our office a call to set up an appointment.
Leave A Comment