Research

Mixed

Muscle-strengthening activities are associated with a 17% lower incidence of diabetes, with risk decreasing markedly up to 60 minutes per week (L-shaped association).

To reduce your risk of developing diabetes, incorporate 30-60 minutes of muscle-strengthening exercises per week. The biggest benefit comes from getting up to 60 minutes, after which additional time yields diminishing returns for diabetes risk specifically.

ModerateSupportsLOW confidence
Muscle- strengthening activities were associated with a 17% lower incidence of diabetes (RR 0.83; 0.77 to 0.89; p<0.001)... an L- shaped relationship was found, and the risk markedly decreased until up to 60 min/week of muscle- strengthening activities
Haruki Momma et al. · British Journal of Sports Medicine · 2022

Why this rating

The authors rate the certainty of evidence for diabetes as 'low' due to heterogeneity and study quality, though fewer studies were included compared to mortality.

Source

Muscle-strengthening activities are associated with lower risk and mortality in major non-communicable diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies

Haruki Momma et al. · British Journal of Sports Medicine · 2022

DOI 10.1136/bjsports-2021-105061

Meta-analysis · 16 studiesCited 245×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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