2012 Volume 24 Issue 4 Pages 259-271
In recent years, the Westernization of dietary habits and increasingly sedentary lifestyles have contributed to a marked increase in the number of patients with lifestyle-related diseases, including type 2 diabetes (T2D), worldwide. Epidemiological studies of physical exercise, such as the Diabetes Prevention Program and the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study, have shown that lifestyle intervention programs involving diet and/or exercise reduce the progression of impaired glucose tolerance to T2D. In Japan, a nationwide survey regarding exercise therapy for diabetic patients revealed that relatively few physicians provide patients with exercise guidance because of time constraints, that the physicians do not receive additional consultation fees, and there is a lack of specialized physical exercise educators. It has been demonstrated in well-controlled diabetic patients that physical exercise promotes the utilization of blood glucose and free fatty acids in the muscles and lowers blood glucose levels. Furthermore, long-term, mild, regular jogging increases the action of insulin without affecting body mass index or maximum oxygen uptake. It is suggested that people with T2D undertake at least 150 min/week of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise spread out over at least 3 days/week, with no more than 2 consecutive days between bouts of aerobic activity. Mild-intensity resistance training using light dumb-bells and stretch cords is recommended for elderly individuals who have decreased muscle strength and mass (sarcopenia). An active lifestyle is essential for the management of diabetes, a typical lifestyle-related disease.
