Participants who performed moderate levels of activity experienced lower risk of incident diabetes compared with participants who performed lower levels of activity, according to recent study results.
Researchers from the University of Washington, Seattle, enrolled 1,826 participants without diabetes and cardiovascular disease to examine the association between levels of physical activity and incident type 2 diabetes. To tally their number of steps, participants wore a pedometer for a week.
Overall, researchers identified 243 incident cases of diabetes during 5 years of follow-up. Study results showed participants in the lowest quartile of steps per day (less than 3,500 steps) had a higher risk for diabetes compared with the participants in the upper three quartiles of steps per day. Of those with the lowest activity levels, 17% developed diabetes compared with 12% of the group that walked more than 3,500 steps per day.
For more information:
Fretts AM. Diabetes Care. 2012;doi:10.2337/dc11-2321.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.