Beyond Trim: Walk every day to keep diabetes at bay

STERLING — There have been many studies looking into the relationship between physical activity and diabetes.

I want to focus on two of the more recent ones. One illustrated the importance of walking for prevention of diabetes in healthy people and the other showed how walking helps to manage blood sugar for people who were already diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes.

The results of the first study titled “The Effects of Postprandial Walking on the Glucose Response after Meals with Different Characteristics” were published in 2022. In this study 21 healthy young adults were fed different meals containing different carbohydrate content, and some meals were in liquid form vs. solid. After consuming the meals, the participants walked briskly for 30 minutes.

The study was aimed to see if different types of meals (higher carb, lower carb, liquid vs. solid food, etc.) made a difference in how fast and how far blood sugar was spiked after the meal. Walking was more effective at controlling the blood sugar spike after a lower carbohydrate meal, but I think it’s important to note that walking was effective at lowering the spike of blood sugar no matter what type of meal was consumed.

The researchers concluded that 30 minutes of brisk walking after meals was effective in improving the blood sugar response after meals with different carbohydrate or macronutrient composition and that a walking program would be a great tool for improving blood sugar control in everyday life.

The second study observed older men and women who were diagnosed as pre-diabetic. In this study it was found that only 15 minutes of easy-to-moderate exercise after every meal curbed blood sugar spikes all day long, and that the shorter and more frequent walks were just as effective at reducing blood sugar over 24 hours as a single 45-minute walk at the same pace. An evening walk after supper seemed to be especially beneficial.

The researchers felt that splitting activity into more manageable intervals might help seniors to feel more capable of achieving the recommended level of activity.

The Diabetes Prevention Program funded by the Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease was a landmark trial to show that lifestyle changes can effectively delay diabetes. In addition to recommending at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day, they suggest that you lose weight if you need to and keep it off, and that you eat healthy foods most of the time and drink water instead of sweetened beverages.

• Sherry DeWalt is the healthy lifestyles coordinator for the CGH Health Foundation in Sterling.