Blog - Diabetes Management
Type 2 Diabetes and Exercise: How Much is Enough?
The benefits of exercise have been shown to help improve the health and well-being of people living with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Along with other elements of diabetes treatment, such as a healthy diet, medication, and insulin, exercise can help individuals living with T2D have an excellent quality of life and reduce the chance of developing complications. Learning more about how much exercise you need and exploring what types of movement work for you can support your diabetes management, helping you feel your best more often.
Benefits of Exercise for Type 2 Diabetes
Exercise is great for maintaining both physical and mental health. It can also help reduce high blood sugar.1 Here are just a few important benefits of exercise for people living with T2D.
1. Improved Insulin Sensitivity
Exercising makes your body more sensitive to insulin. When you’re exercising, your muscles can absorb the glucose from your blood more efficiently. Exercising right after a meal can help reduce glucose spikes as studies show that moderate exercise can significantly increase glucose absorption.2 It can also lower glucose for up to 24 hours after you’re done working out or doing vigorous activity.3
2. Weight Loss
Fat around the waist, especially excess fat around your organs, can decrease insulin sensitivity as fat isn’t as receptive to glucose as muscle. Regular exercise can help you lose weight, which is associated with increased insulin sensitivity. This means that the insulin in your body or insulin you inject can work more effectively to keep your blood sugar down.4
3. Lowering Bad Cholesterol
Higher levels of bad cholesterol, or LDL cholesterol, a type of fat that’s dissolved in the bloodstream, can contribute to complications involving the heart. People living with T2D are at increased risk of developing heart disease, so it’s important to maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Having high blood sugar levels is associated with higher LDL cholesterol. Exercise, weight loss, and good glucose management all contribute to lowering LDL cholesterol.5
4. Controlling Blood Pressure
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is more common in individuals living with T2D. Like high LDL cholesterol, hypertension can contribute to the development of heart disease. Exercising, especially aerobic exercise, makes the heart stronger. This means it can pump blood more efficiently, reducing the pressure inside the arteries.6,7
5. Boosting Emotional Well-Being
Research suggests that improving glucose control through exercise can help individuals living with diabetes feel better physically and emotionally. Exercising releases endorphins, which are chemicals in the brain that make us feel good. There is also a correlation between exercising and experiencing improvements in depression and anxiety.8,9
How much exercise should someone living with T2D get?
The NHS recommends that adults between 19 and 65 engage in moderate-intensity activity for at least 150 minutes or vigorous activity for at least 75 minutes, spread across 4 to 5 days of the week.10 Children 5 to 18 should get at least 60 minutes.11 The NHS also recommends that individuals reduce the time they spend sitting or lying down by taking breaks to stand up or walk around throughout the day.10
It’s best to do a combination of aerobic exercises like walking or swimming and strength-training like lifting weights.10 Adults over the age of 65 should focus on activities that improve strength, balance, and flexibility at least twice a week.12 A well-rounded physical fitness programme allows you to switch up your exercise routine and keep things fun while supporting your overall health.
Whether you’re just getting started with a workout plan or looking to try something new, it’s important to choose activities you enjoy. The goal isn’t just to get active; it’s to make movement a part of your lifestyle for the long term. Here are just a few ideas for activities that might interest you:10
- Going swimming or doing aqua aerobics
- Taking a brisk walk, hiking or running
- Cycling or rollerblading
- Joining a sport like basketball, tennis or football
- Signing up for a dance, yoga or pilates class
- Trying out martial arts like qigong or taekwondo
- Learning to row or kayak
Movement that Works for Every Body
Each individual has different levels of mobility and energy. You don’t have to do high-intensity workouts or become a marathon runner to stay in shape. Even an activity as simple as vacuuming or carrying the laundry basket up the stairs can get your body moving and help support your overall health.1 If you can only engage in movement for short periods, that’s okay. Remember to take rests when you need them.
Some ways to get movement into your day that don’t require you to hit the gym or engage in intense exercise include:10
- Dancing around the house
- Carrying shopping bags or your kids
- Taking the stairs or walking up the escalator
- Adding small wrist and ankle weights to a stretching routine
- Walking around the block or wandering around a museum
- Playing with your pets or family members in the garden
- Gardening and tidying up around the house
For those with limited mobility or those who use mobility aids, there are plenty of ways to stay active. See if there are accessible gyms, pools and sports teams in your area. You can also do adaptive exercises at home. For people who may be bed-bound for a period of time, the NHS also has a few recommendations for exercises you can do lying down.
Manage Your Glucose During Exercise with CGM
Exercising impacts glucose levels, so it’s important to keep an eye on them while you’re active to avoid lows. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) makes it a little easier to see where your glucose is at before, during and after some physical activity so that you can make proactive treatment decisions to reduce highs and lows. CGM systems can also help you track your progress, see how exercise supports your diabetes management and celebrate your wins along the way.
Endnotes
1 Diabetes management: How lifestyle, daily routine affect blood sugar. Mayo Clinic. Updated June 2, 2022.
2 Venkatasamy VV, et al. Effect of Physical activity on Insulin Resistance, Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in Diabetes Mellitus. J Clin Diagn Res. 2013;7(8):1764-6.
3 Blood Glucose & Exercise. American Diabetes Association. Accessed September 15, 2023.
4 Weight Loss and Diabetes. Diabetes UK. Accessed September 15, 2023.
5 Mohamed E, et al. Dyslipidaemic pattern of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Malays J Med Sci. 2004 Jan;11(1):44-51. PMID: 22977359; PMCID: PMC3438150
6 Exercise: A drug-free approach to lowering high blood pressure. Mayo Clinic. Updated November 10, 2022.
7 Petrie JR, et al. Diabetes, Hypertension, and Cardiovascular Disease: Clinical Insights and Vascular Mechanisms. Can J Cardiol. National Library of Medicine. 2018 May;34(5):575-584.
8 Sardar MA, et al. The effects of aerobic exercise training on psychosocial aspects of men with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Glob J Health Sci. 2014 Jan 20;6(2):196-202.
9 Depression and anxiety: Exercise eases symptoms. Mayo Clinic. Updated September 27, 2017.
10 Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64. National Health Service. Updated August 4, 2021.
11 Physical activity guidelines for children and young people. National Health Service. Updated November 12, 2021.
12 Physical activity guidelines for older adults. National Health Service. Updated September 24, 2021.
2 Venkatasamy VV, et al. Effect of Physical activity on Insulin Resistance, Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in Diabetes Mellitus. J Clin Diagn Res. 2013;7(8):1764-6.
3 Blood Glucose & Exercise. American Diabetes Association. Accessed September 15, 2023.
4 Weight Loss and Diabetes. Diabetes UK. Accessed September 15, 2023.
5 Mohamed E, et al. Dyslipidaemic pattern of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Malays J Med Sci. 2004 Jan;11(1):44-51. PMID: 22977359; PMCID: PMC3438150
6 Exercise: A drug-free approach to lowering high blood pressure. Mayo Clinic. Updated November 10, 2022.
7 Petrie JR, et al. Diabetes, Hypertension, and Cardiovascular Disease: Clinical Insights and Vascular Mechanisms. Can J Cardiol. National Library of Medicine. 2018 May;34(5):575-584.
8 Sardar MA, et al. The effects of aerobic exercise training on psychosocial aspects of men with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Glob J Health Sci. 2014 Jan 20;6(2):196-202.
9 Depression and anxiety: Exercise eases symptoms. Mayo Clinic. Updated September 27, 2017.
10 Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64. National Health Service. Updated August 4, 2021.
11 Physical activity guidelines for children and young people. National Health Service. Updated November 12, 2021.
12 Physical activity guidelines for older adults. National Health Service. Updated September 24, 2021.