Edited by Katie Barnes. Email:
katiebarnes@leisuremedia.com RESEARCH ROUND-UP Harder work
Women with diabetes have to work out harder than men to get the same benefi ts in certain exercises, shows a small US study
that’s often linked with the escalating numbers of obese people. However, a new study – which shows that women suffering from Type 2 diabetes need to work out harder than men to reap the same benefits – suggests that simply prescribing exercise isn’t enough. Programmes should be targeted to suit individuals to make a real difference.
E
Exercise test The study*, conducted by researchers at the University of Missouri in the US, was based on 22 obese men and women diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. They were aged between 40 and 60 years and were previously physically inactive. All of the participants were put on a
16-week exercise training programme where they walked, either on a treadmill or outside, for 30 minutes four days a week at 65 per cent capacity. At the start and end of the training
programme, many measurements were taken including weight, BMI and glucose and insulin levels. The impact of the training on cardiovascular fitness was also recorded, by running a three-minute isometric handgrip test before and after the training programme. The handgrip test involves continually and forcefully squeezing an object, and is considered a clinically useful, static exercise tool for measuring heart rate and blood pressure.
Male benefits Results from the study showed no significant increase or decrease in weight, BMI, glucose or insulin levels in response to the training programme in
xercise is one of the key interventions suggested to help people with Type 2 diabetes – a disease
The benefits attributed to exercise may not be the same across genders
either men or women. Likewise, resting blood pressure and heart rates showed no notable differences. Where marked changes did occur,
however, was in the results of the handgrip test. In the test that took place after training, men had a greater reduction in diastolic blood pressure and dilation of the blood vessels – but there was no improvement in women. This indicates that, cardiovascularly, the women did not recover as quickly as the men, suggesting that their fi tness levels had not increased. Lead researcher Jill Kanaley says:
“This research highlights that the advantages we think exercise is going to give individuals may not be the same across genders, particularly for those who have Type 2 diabetes. This is a concern, because there are high mortality rates with Type 2 diabetes, especially for women. “We keep assuming that exercise will do the trick – we think, when we tell
people to ‘go train’ regardless of gender, that everyone will get the same results. Our research indicates certain exercises may not be enough for women.” Kanaley goes on to suggest that obese
women with Type 2 diabetes may benefi t from longer durations of exercise, or physical activity that is of a higher intensity than 65 per cent, if they want to see benefi ts. She also says that, based on the
signifi cant variances in cardiovascular recovery rates between men and women, more focus should be placed on measuring this in future studies. “A lot of people focus on how high individuals’ heart rates get during exercise, but their recovery rates should also be monitored. When you exercise, you want your blood pressure to rise, but you don’t want it to get too high. Your blood pressure should also return to normal relatively quickly after you stop exercise. In our study, the recovery rate for women was not as rapid as for men.”
*Kanaley, JA et al. Exercise training improves hemodynamic recovery to isometric exercise in obese men with type 2 diabetes but not women. Metabolism. Sept 2012 62 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital July 2013 © Cybertrek 2013
PHOTO:
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/ ROBERT KNESCHKE
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94