on PinterestResearch shows that increased physical activity may help prevent many diabetes complications.
on PinterestResearch shows that increased physical activity may help prevent many diabetes complications. Image Credit: Alessandro Biascioli/Getty Images
- A recent study has found that many of the complications associated with diabetes, such as stroke and eye disease, are linked to low levels of physical activity.
- The researchers suggest that diabetes complications may be preventable with increased activity.
- The CDC recommends that adults over the age of 18 get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity activity.
Physical activity is an important part of overall health. This may be especially true for people with type 2 diabetes.
A recent study published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science found that a lack of physical activity may drive certain health issues associated with type 2 diabetes.
“Diabetes complications are often seen as inevitable consequences of the disease,” Jayne Feter, lead author of the study and a medical researcher with the Federal said in a press release.
“Our findings challenge this idea by showing that a meaningful proportion of these complications could be prevented through achievable increases in physical activity among people living with diabetes,” she added.
Yesika Garcia, MD, board certified endocrinologist, who was not involved in the study, agreed.
“The study’s conclusions are highly consistent with what we see clinically; a meaningful portion of diabetes complications can be prevented with regular movement. As an endocrinologist, I increasingly prescribe physical activity the same way we prescribe medications because of the huge impact exercise has on quality of life,” Garcia told Healthline.
10% of diabetes complications linked to sedentary behavior
According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), 589 million people had diabetes worldwide in 2024. They predict that this will rise to 853 million by 2050.
Having diabetes can increase your risk of developing complications, such as:
- cardiovascular disease
- stroke
- peripheral artery disease
- chronic kidney disease
- atherosclerosis
- diabetic retinopathy
This recent study pooled data from over 2.3 million people from 27 previous health studies conducted around the world.
The researchers used this data to track the physical activity levels among people with diabetes, as well as any diabetes-related complications they developed.
They estimated that up to 10% of these complications could be attributed to physical inactivity.
Some of the key findings from this research found that physical inactivity accounts for the following, globally:
- 10.2% of strokes
- 9.7% of diabetic retinopathy
- 7.3% of heart failure
- 5% to 7% of coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease among people with diabetes
David Cutler, MD, board certified family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, who was not involved in the study, cautioned against taking these findings as evidence of direct cause and effect.
“There was great variability of the effect of physical activity depending on ethnicity and geographic location. Physical activity was categorized in a binary (active vs inactive) method of accounting, which is not useful for identifying how much activity is needed to reduce risk,” Cutler told Healthline.
“The definition of diabetes was variable in different countries. Several confounders were not consistently measured, such as obesity, hypertension, healthcare access,
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