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Weight training lowers diabetes risk

Weight training, not just cardio workouts, is linked to a lower risk of developing diabetes, according to a new study.

"We all know that aerobic exercise is beneficial for diabetes - many studies have looked at that - but no studies have looked at weight training," said Dr Frank Hu of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. "This study suggests weight training is important for diabetes, and probably as important as aerobic training," he said.

How the study was done

Dr Hu and his colleagues used data on more than 32 000 male health professionals, who answered questionnaires every two years from 1990 to 2008.

On average, four out of 1000 men developed type 2 diabetes every year, the researchers reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The risk was only half as high for men who did aerobic workouts at least 150 minutes a week as for those who didn't do any cardio exercise.

Men who did weight training for 150 minutes or more had a risk reduction of a third compared to those who never lifted weights - independently of whether or not they did aerobic exercise.

Whereas weight training increases muscle mass and can reduce abdominal obesity, it tends not to cut overall body mass, said Dr Hu.

The results don't prove that working out staves off diabetes, because many men who stay fit may also be healthier in other ways. But the researchers did their best to account for such potential differences, including age, smoking and diet.

"I think the benefits of weight training are real," said Dr Hu. "Any type of exercise is beneficial for diabetes prevention but weight training can be incorporated with aerobic exercise to get the best results."

(Reuters Health, August 2012)

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