It's now pretty common sense that exercise does improve blood sugar control in type II diabetics, however most studies focus on singular exercise interventions.

But, a study from the Journal of the American Medical Association examined the effectiveness of both aerobic, strength training, and combined aerobics and strength training protocols when it comes to haemoglobin A1c levels (a measure of how much sugar is sticking to cells and hence a good predictor of long term elevated blood glucose). Here are the details.

Study Parameters

• 262 men and women with type II diabetes
• Average age 56 years
• 9 month exercise program
• Average Hemoglobin A1c levels 7.7% (normal levels are 4-5.9%)
• 41 participants were assigned to the non-exercise control group; 73 to resistance training sessions; 72 to aerobic exercise sessions; and 76 to combined aerobic and resistance training.

Study Results

Hba1c Levels

• - 0.34% combo group
• - 0.16% strength training only
• - 0.24% aerobic training only

The control group actually increased its use of diabetes medications, while the combination training group decreased its diabetes medication use .

Weight Loss

• All exercise groups reduced waist circumference (.75-1.1 inches)
• The resistance training group lost an average of 3.1 lbs of fat mass
• The combo group lost an average of 3.7 lbs of fat mass

For Best Results: Diversify

If I could describe your diabetes action plan in the most basic...