Strength Training And Cardio Decrease Type 2 Diabetes Risk For Women

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - It is pretty straight forward that a good diet and exercise will help prevent type 2 diabetes and we also are well aware that running, walking, biking and other forms of aerobic exercise are also quite helpful. But you might be surprised that things like lifting weights, yoga, and stretching help quite a bit as well.

Almost 100,000 women aged 53-81 were followed for eight years. Researchers found that women who incorporated muscle strengthening and conditioning exercise into their lives did have a decreased risk of developing type 2 diabetes when compared to women who reported no muscle strengthening and conditioning activities.

That's the good news. The great news is that women who engaged in both - about two and a half hours a week of aerobic exercise and about an hour a week of muscle strengthening activities - were only a third as likely to develop diabetes than their inactive counterparts.

You can read all the books you want and talk to as many people as you like but the truth is the truth…not necessarily easy or quick, but true.