Research

Hormonal

Nine months of combined aerobic and resistance exercise training improves glycemic control (HbA1c) in individuals with type 2 diabetes, with the magnitude of improvement being significantly associated with a shorter duration of diabetes, decreased serum free fatty acids (FFA), increased serum adiponectin, and increased skeletal muscle PGC-1a protein content.

If you have type 2 diabetes, start exercising as soon as possible after diagnosis for the best blood sugar control. A combination of aerobic exercise (like brisk walking or cycling) and resistance training (weight lifting) is most effective. Aim for about 3 days of cardio and 2 days of strength training per week. Even if you've had diabetes for a long time, exercise still helps by improving how your muscles use fat and energy, leading to better blood sugar levels.

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The novel finding of the present investigation was that the changes in HbA1C after 9 months of exercise were independently associated with the duration of type 2 diabetes and changes in serum FFA and negatively associated with changes in serum adiponectin and skeletal muscle PGC-1a.
Neil M. Johannsen et al. · PLoS ONE · 2013

Why this rating

Randomized controlled trial with a sub-cohort analysis; however, the sample size for the ancillary study is small (n=35) and the exercise groups were collapsed for analysis, reducing statistical power for specific modality comparisons.

Source

Determinants of the Changes in Glycemic Control with Exercise Training in Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Trial

Neil M. Johannsen et al. · PLoS ONE · 2013

DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0062973

rct · n=35Cited 18×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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