Brisk walking protects you from developing type 2 diabetes
A new study has found that the distance you walk and how quickly you move reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes
The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine on Tuesday, stated that brisk walking is associated with a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life, by approximately 40%
“Previous studies have indicated that frequent walking is associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the general population,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Ahmad Jaidi, an assistant researcher in social determinants at the Health Research Center at Semnan University of Medical Sciences in Iran. "The more time they walked daily, the less at risk they were
However, the researchers pointed out that previous findings did not provide much guidance about the ideal habitual walking speed needed to reduce the risk of diabetes, and there are no comprehensive reviews of the evidence
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The authors reviewed 10 previous studies conducted between 1999 and 2022 that evaluated associations between walking speed, measured by timed objective tests or self-reports from participants, and the development of type 2 diabetes among adults from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan
After an average follow-up period of eight years, the researchers found that compared to easy walking, those who walked at a moderate or normal pace had a 15% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Those who walked at a “fairly fast” pace had a 24% lower risk of developing this disease, compared to those who practiced easy walking. Brisk walking had the biggest benefit: a 39% reduction in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes
Easy walking was defined as covering an area of less than 2 miles (3.2 km) per hour. Walking at a moderate or normal speed, covering a distance between 2 and 3 miles (3.2 to 4.8 kilometers) per hour. “Moderately fast” walking involves covering a distance of between 3 and 4 miles (4.8 to 6.4 kilometers) per hour. “Brisk walking” means covering a distance greater than 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) per hour. Each additional kilometer of walking speed was associated with a 9% lower risk of developing the disease
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“The fact that brisk walking may be more beneficial is not surprising, but the ability for researchers to measure walking speed and incorporate that into their analysis is interesting,” Dr. Robert Gabay, chief scientific and medical officer at the American Diabetes Association, who was not involved in the study, told CNN
Speaking to CNN, Dr. Carmen Cuthbertson, assistant professor of health education and promotion at East Carolina University, who was not involved in the study, added, “The study also confirms the idea that speed (walking) is important for preventing diabetes.” She continued, “Doing any amount of physical activity "It may have health benefits, but to prevent diabetes it is important to engage in some high-intensity activity, such as brisk walking, to get the most benefit."
Learn about the benefits of brisk walking
Gabay noted that the study does not provide evidence of cause and effect, but "one can imagine that more vigorous exercise might lead to increased physical fitness, reduced body weight and thus insulin resistance, and reduced risk of diabetes."
Dr. Michio Shimabukuro, professor and head of the Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Faculty of Medicine at Fukushima Medical University, who was not involved in the study, agrees, saying that “increasing exercise intensity due to higher walking speeds may further stimulate physiological functions and physical activity. "It leads to a better health condition."
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According to Dr. Borja del Pozo Cruz, a senior health researcher at the University of Cádiz in Spain, who was not involved in the research, walking speed may simply reflect health status, meaning that it is preferable for healthy people to walk faster
Del Pozo Cruz emphasized: “There is a high risk of reverse causality, as health impairment is likely to explain the observed results. We need randomized controlled trials to confirm the results.”
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