A recent research published in ‘Jama Internal Medicine’ that analyzed the isolated effect of vigorous and moderate exercise on prevention of diabetes suggested that physical exercise is an effective scheme for obesity management to delay the progression of type 2 diabetes.

      In the randomized clinical trial, the research team conducted a 10-year follow-up study based on previous randomized clinical trial to assess the long-term effects of exercise on the prevention of diabetes. The 12-month intervention consisted of vigorous aerobic exercise (n = 73), moderate aerobic exercise (n = 73), and nonexercise control groups (n = 74) in participants with central obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. At the end of 12-month active exercise intervention, all participants were encouraged to continue with healthy lifestyle and moderate intensity aerobic exercise. Participants were followed up at 2-year and 10-year visits to assess the incidence of type 2 diabetes and the changes in body weight, waist circumference, and metabolic risk factors. Incident diabetes was defined as fasting plasma glucose of 126 mg/dL or greater, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels of 6.5% or greater, and/or use of antidiabetic medication.The Breslow-Cox regression model was used to estimate the relative risk (RR) for incident diabetes by intention-to-treat principle. Group differences were evaluated using the general linear model for continuous variables. Statistical significance was assessed at 2-sided P <.05.

      The risk of diabetes was reduced by 49% (RR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.27-0.94; P = .01) in the vigorous aerobic exercise group and by 53% (RR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.25-0.89; P = .01) in the moderate aerobic exercise group compared with the nonexercise group. Similarly significant reduction in HbA1c and waist circumference was observed in the vigorous and moderate exercise groups. According to the researchers, physical exercise is an effective scheme for obesity management to delay the progression of type 2 diabetes, and vigorous and moderate aerobic exercise programs could be implemented for prevention of type 2 diabetes in people with obesity.