At last……. an exercise study on normal weight diabetics!

Yes, most exercise studies on diabetics are on the overweight or obese diabetics with the recommendation to do 3–5 days per week of aerobic activity at moderate to vigorous intensity, achieving a minimal exercise duration of 150 min per week, and two to three sessions per week of strength training.

However, worldwide about 20% of diabetics are of normal weight (Body mass index <25 Kg/m²) and more so in India.

Not only that but compared with overweight/obese subgroups, people with a normal weight at diagnosis of type 2 diabetes are shown to have a higher risk of mortality. Thirdly, normal-weight type 2 diabetes is associated with sarcopenia or loss of muscle mass which mediates the elevated mortality risk in people with normal-weight diabetes compared with overweight people with type 2 diabetes.

So what exercise advice to give in such diabetics of normal to low weight?

In a study published in July 23 issue of the journal Diabetologia (STRONG-D study), 186 normal weight type 2 diabetics who did strength training exercises only, decreased their HbA1C levels significantly more than those doing aerobic exercise alone or a combination of aerobic and strength training.

Also, their muscle mass improved much more than the groups doing aerobic or combined exercises, which correlated with the decrease in HbA1C.

The moral of the story is that if you are a lean diabetic, concentrate on strength training with an aim to improve your muscle mass.