Pumping Iron and Beating Diabetes

High-intensity weight training, when combined with a moderate weight-loss program, can help older men and women (aged 60 to 80) with type 2 diabetes improve their blood sugar control while boosting their muscle strength and lean body mass.

The findings, published in the October 10, 2002, issue of Diabetes Care, indicate that the added muscle is particularly beneficial. According to the study?s lead author, this is because muscles are ?major clearance sites? for circulating blood glucose.

The study also noted, ?The effects of the resistance training program were as great as those typically seen with drugs for diabetes.? The high-intensity lifting program involved training with weights that are around 80% of the maximum poundage a person can lift for 1 repetition.