Research

Adherence

Higher levels of objectively measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) are associated with a lower prevalence of pre-diabetes in middle-aged adults, but this association is not statistically significant after adjusting for age and BMI.

Increasing your physical activity is a good step for health, but for middle-aged adults, it may not be enough on its own to prevent pre-diabetes if you are older or have a higher BMI. Focus on a holistic approach that includes weight management and regular screening, as exercise alone does not independently protect against pre-diabetes in this demographic after accounting for age and body mass.

ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
However, these results were no longer significant when age and BMI were held constant. ... Overall, our data suggest a negative association between measures of PA and the prevalence of PD in middle-aged US adults independent of adiposity, but with significant confounding influence from measures of BMI and age.
Lara R. Dugas et al. · 2014

Why this rating

Large sample size (N=1,317) and objective measurement (accelerometry) are strengths, but the cross-sectional design prevents causal inference.

Source

Peer Review #1 of "Physical activity and pre-diabetes—an unacknowledged mid-life crisis: findings from NHANES 2003–2006 (v0.1)"

Lara R. Dugas et al. · 2014

DOI 10.7287/peerj.499v0.1/reviews/1

cross_sectional · n=1317
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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