Walk 30 Minutes a Day to Cut Diabetes Risks

Risks cut in half for people of any weight

No excuses - get out and walk for 30 minutes a day as your minimum daily requirement for health and to prevent Type 2 diabetes. A study by the Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, published in the Oct. 1, 2003 American Journal of Epidemiology discovered that walking for 30 minutes a day cut diabetes risks for overweight as well as non-overweight men and women.

Prevent Diabetes by Walking 30 Minutes a Day

Complications of Type 2 diabetes are the leading causes of misery and death in the US - amputations, impotence, blindness, kidney failure, and shortening life by five to seven years. Yet this disease is preventable by lifestyle changes - get out walking each day, eat healthier, enjoy life rather than heading down the road to a life governed by blood sugar readings and disabilities.

"We have found that men and women who incorporate activity into their lifestyles are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who are sedentary. This finding holds no matter what their initial weight," said study author and principal investigator Andrea Kriska, Ph.D., associate professor of epidemiology at GSPH. "This suggests that adopting and maintaining a program of regular physical activity similar to what the Surgeon General's recommendations suggest can play a significant role in preventing type 2 diabetes."

Walking Sheds Pounds as Well as Cutting Diabetes Risks in Overweight People

This is further support for the landmark 2001 Diabetes Prevention Program study that showed that walking 30 minutes, for five days a week and moderate changes in eating cut in half the risk of diabetes in overweight people with high blood sugar. The participants also lost an average of 15 pounds in a year. This result makes moderate exercise such as walking the prescription to prevent Type 2 diabetes in the 16 million Americans on the verge of developing diabetes.

These two studies are exciting because they studied high-risk populations, made minor changes in lifestyle, and showed significant results.

Walk of Life 10-Week Program

Our free Walk of Life 10-Week Program gets you moving each day and delivers a healthy recipe, nutrition tip, exercises, and motivation.
Walk of Life 10-Week Program

Source: Andrea M. Kriska, Aramesh Saremi, Robert L. Hanson, Peter H. Bennett, Sayuko Kobes, Desmond E. Williams, and William C. Knowler."Physical Activity, Obesity, and the Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes in a High-Risk Population." American Journal of Epidemiology. 2003 158: 669-675.