Why is Exercise Important?

Lifestyle modification has proven to be an effective way of managing diabetes and other chronic illnesses. 

Exercise helps control weight, lower blood pressure, lower harmful LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, strengthen muscles and bones, help manage anxiety and general wellness of an individual. 

For people with diabetes, exercise helps lower blood glucose levels and increase tissue sensitivity to insulin since the body utilizes energy during exercise.

Exercise has shown `benefits in lowering the levels of HbA1C (Glycated hemoglobin levels).

Additionally, exercise helps to lower insulin resistance in previously sedentary individuals who had obesity or abdominal fat.

A healthy weight can be determined using the body max index (BMI) ranges.

BMI measures your height compared to your weight. 

BMI ranges are as follows:  

  • Normal: 18.5-24.9
  • Overweight: 25-29.9
  • Obesity: 30 or more.

Exercise also helps reduce belly fat which increases your weight circumference. Generally, women with a waist size of more than 35 inches are at higher risk of developing health problems. So are men with waist size of above 40 inches. 

Physical activity can be combined with diet to help avoid being overweight. 

You can engage in weekly activities such as walking, jogging or more involving activities that require strength training. 

In general, you can aim for not less than 30 minutes of moderate-intense physical activity per day. 

Exercising regularly helps in reducing the risk of developing cardiovascular complications such as heart disease.

For people with diabetes, the best time to exercise is one to three hours after eating (when their blood sugar is considerably high.

Before exercising, check your blood sugar to avoid hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)

Do not engage in exercise when you are recovering from serious hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) within the last 24 hours.

Your doctor/healthcare provider will advise on how to approach exercise depending on the readings of your blood glucose monitor before exercise. 

For lower blood sugar, you may need to take a snack or food containing sugars before starting the exercise.

As soon as you finish exercise , check your blood sugar levels and repeat after a few hours. This helps to monitor any signs of hypglyemia