Toward the Minimal Volume of Exercise for the Prevention and Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes

Abstract

Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT, 2h glucose 140-199 mg/dl), impaired fasting glucose (IFG, fasting glucose 100-125 mg/dl) and Type 2 diabetes (T2D) are conditions characterized by varying levels of insulin resistance causing hyperglycemia on the background of an insulin secretion defect. Patients with IGT and/or IFG are often regarded as having pre-diabetes. Rising levels of obesity and insufficient physical activity are independent risk factors for insulin resistance/diabetes [1]. In fact, these have resulted in a high prevalence of pre-diabetes (35% in American adults, 2008) and T2D (8.3% in Americans, 2011) [2]. Moreover, the prevalence of T2D is increasing rapidly in the US and throughout the world [2]. T2D is associated with substantial human costs in terms of reduced quality of life and life expectancy, and management of the symptoms and secondary complications of T2D accounts for a considerable proportion of total public health care expenditures. Exercise training is a recognized, although relatively underutilized strategy that is central to the prevention, care and management of T2D and pre-diabetes [3].