Copyright independent
Running is one of the best ways to burn a few extra calories, but when it comes to preventing diabetes lifting weights might be better. That’s according to a study that compared the effects of endurance and resistance exercise in mice fed a high-fat diet - a common model for studying diabetes and obesity. Researchers led by exercise medicine researcher Zhen Yan of Virginia Tech found both running and weightlifting helped the body clear excess sugar from the blood. But resistance training was more effective in reducing subcutaneous and visceral fat, improving glucose tolerance, and lowering insulin resistance - key factors in preventing and managing diabetes. “The findings also bring good news for people who, for any number of reasons, cannot engage in endurance-type exercise,” Professor Yan said. “Weight training has equal, if not better, anti-diabetes benefits.” It’s estimated that more than 5.8 million people in the UK are living with diabetes, which is an all-time high, according to Diabetes UK. Previous research has shown for some people, lifestyle changes like diet, exercise and sustained weight loss, can be effective in reducing type 2 diabetes by about 50 per cent. In the new study, published in the journal Sport and Health Science researchers conducted a rigorous side-by-side comparison of weight lifting versus running. To conduct the study researchers built specially designed cages where food was accessed through a hinged, weighted lid. To eat, the mice had to lift the lid while wearing a small shoulder collar, causing a squat-like movement that engaged the muscle contractions humans use during resistance exercise. The weight was gradually increased over several days to mimic strength training. For the mice doing the endurance test, researchers gave access to a running wheel to measure aerobic exercise. Control groups included sedentary mice on either a normal or high-fat diet. Over eight weeks, researchers monitored weight gain, body composition, and fat distribution. They tested exercise capacity with treadmill runs, assessed heart and muscle function, and measured how well the mice regulated blood sugar. “Our data showed that both running and weightlifting reduce fat in the abdomen and under the skin, and improve blood glucose maintenance, with better insulin signaling in skeletal muscle,” Professor Yan said. “Importantly, weightlifting outperforms running in these health benefits.” Building muscle helps prevent diabetes because muscle is the body's “main engine” and needs glucose to function, Naveed Sattar, Professor of Metabolic Medicine at the University of Glasgow, who was not part of the study, explained. This means the body can better absorb glucose and blood sugar levels are improved. Although this has shown to have benefits on mice in a lab, Professor Sattar said: “In real life, most people will find it easier to simply walk more,” adding that “an extra 10 mins or 1000 steps a day can do wonders.” He told the Independent: “Running if one can find time to do it and enjoy it at whatever speed, however, is the best exercise as it burns calories faster than nearly all other activities and keeps the lungs, blood vessels and heart in better conditions. I would much rather people run or walk more first and foremost than simply do resistance exercise.” Alex Miras, Professor of Medicine at Ulster University, who was also not part of the study, stressed that despite the results, “it’s important people do the type of exercise that suits them the most.” He told the Independent: “The benefits of any form of exercise are cumulative, but it is always better to do something regularly that you enjoy, rather than a specific type of exercise based on the research studies. A combination of aerobic and anaerobic exercise is ideal but not always possible.”
