Diabetics: Pump iron/control glucose

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25450-2002Oct14.html

Pump Iron, Control Glucose

Resistance training -- better known as lifting

weights -- can control blood-sugar levels in

older people with type 2 diabetes as

effectively as drugs, according to a small

study published in the journal Diabetes Care.

Australian researchers found that among 36

participants aged 60 to 80, all of whom were

assigned to a moderate weight-loss program,

those who engaged in simple but

high-intensity weight lifting routines (using

dumbbells and gym machines) not only

dramatically lowered their blood glucose

levels but also gained muscle strength and

lean body mass.

Controlling blood sugar is key to managing

diabetes, a debilitating and often

life-threatening disease in which the body

loses its ability to process the hormone

insulin.

of the International Diabetes

Institute in , Australia, notes that the

medical community places less emphasis on

physical activity than on diet in managing

diabetes. When exercise is recommended, it

often is of the aerobic variety, like walking,

which can be difficult for older patients, who

face age-related loss of muscle along with

diabetes-related complications such as heart

disease and lower-limb problems.

hopes his study will call attention to

supervised weight training as a highly beneficial

alternative.