SUNDAY, June 15 (HealthDay News) -- If you're a man with type 2
diabetes, how long you live may be determined more by how
physically fit you are than by how much you weigh.
A new study expected to be presented in San Francisco this
weekend at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society found that
physical fitness appeared to be more important than weight in
estimating a male diabetic's longevity.
"Death rates were the highest for those who were 'low fit' in
all weight categories," researcher Dr. Roshney Jacob-Issac, an
endocrinology fellow at George Washington University Hospital, said
in a prepared statement.
Researchers used 2,690 male diabetic veterans in VA hospitals,
most of whom were overweight or obese based on their body mass
index (BMI), a measure of body fat using height and weight.
The vets were categorized as having low, moderate or high
fitness level, depending on their performance on a standard
treadmill exercise tolerance test.
The researchers found that the higher the man's level of
fitness, the lower his risk of dying during the study period. For
example, those in the high fitness level -- whether at normal body
weight or overweight -- reduced their risk of death by 40 percent.
The findings were even more dramatic for those classified as obese
but in reasonable good shape: a cut in death risk of 52 percent,
when compared to peers not physically fit, the study found during
its seven-year follow-up period.
"Diabetics should improve their fitness level or exercise
capacity to at least a moderate level, by being physically active.
Weight loss is great, but being active is just as important,"
Jacob-Issac advised.
She said people should get at least 30 minutes of
moderate-intensity physical activity -- the equivalent to brisk
walking at least five days of the week -- to achieve the health
benefits reported in the current study.
More information
The American Diabetes Association has more about
diabetes.
