While it's often believed that diet and exercise are interchangeable, the benefits they actually offer may be separate or combines while managing Type 2 diabetes.
Saint Louis University associate professor Edward Weiss, Ph.D, and colleagues enrolled sedentary, overweight, middle-aged men and women who were assigned to one of three groups designed to reduce weight by 6-8 percent through calorie restriction, exercise or a combination of both.
The investigators found that both exercise and calorie restriction had positive effects on insulin sensitivity. Most interestingly, the group that did both saw two times the improvement in insulin sensitivity than either of the single-approach groups.
The study suggested that both exercise and calorie restriction have additive beneficial effects on glucoregulation (the steady maintenance of glucose, or sugar, in the body).
Weiss said it was already known that exercise can improve glucoregulation, both through weight loss and through mechanisms that are independent of weight loss. This meant that even if a person didn't lose weight, exercise would help.
On the other hand, he added, it was often assumed that calorie restriction improved glucoregulation simply because it lead to weight loss. They found that calorie restriction, like exercise, may be providing benefits beyond those associated with weight loss alone.
If this held true, researchers would expect that the combination of exercise and calorie restriction (with participants still losing between 6 and 8 percent of their weight, like the other groups) would lead to even more improved glucoregulation than either of the other groups alone.
The study showed that people could be healthier if they exercise and eat the right amount of food.
The paper is published in Diabetes Care.
