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- Walking Three Miles a Day Is Advised for Type 2 Diabetics
People with type 2 diabetes who walk three miles a day at moderate speed will significantly reduce blood sugar, blood pressure, blood lipids, body weight, and medical expenses, a new study shows. Walking shorter distances can also help, but not nearly as much. The study, which was reported in Diabetes Care (Volume 28, page 1295, June 2005), included 179 people with type 2 diabetes divided into six groups, each of which exercised at a different intensity level over two years.
Most of the participants chose leisure-time aerobic fitness walking. They kept daily written records of the type, intensity, and duration of their exercise and underwent blood tests and body measurements every three months. A constant energy expenditure equivalent to walking three miles a day (one hour a day at a pace of three miles/hr, or 45 minutes a day at a pace of four miles/hr) was needed for significant decreases in body weight, waist circumference, heart rate, blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglycerides, HbA1c, and medical care expenses.
People who exercised at least 30 minutes per day also showed health benefits. Those in the group that did not increase their exercise had increased health problems and increased health costs. The American Diabetes Association recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most days of the week. This study shows that people with type 2 diabetes need to do more.
- Adding Byetta to Oral Treatment Improves Control of Type 2 Diabetes
Another study reported in Diabetes Care (Volume 28, pages 1092 and 1083 May 2005) showed that Byetta (Exenatide), a new injected drug for type 2 diabetes, helps to reduce HbA1c levels and promote weight loss in people with diabetes. Byetta is prescribed for people with diabetes who have not achieved optimal glycemic control with metformin, sulfonylurea drugs, or combined metformin-sulfonylurea therapy. In a study of 336 people with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes, researchers randomly assigned half of the group to self-administered injections of Byetta twice a day at a dose of either five or 10 micrograms. The other participants administered inactive placebo injections. Both groups continued to take metformin. After 30 weeks, HbA1c levels were at or below 7% in 46% of people who took the higher dose of Byetta and in 32% of those who took the lower dose. Only 13% of people taking placebo injections achieved this HbA1c goal.
Unlike many other diabetes drugs, Byetta did not cause weight gain, but rather produced an average weight loss of three to six pounds during the 30 weeks. A second study showed similar results with Byetta injections in 733 people with type 2 diabetes who failed to achieve adequate glycemic control while using combined metformin-sulfonylurea treatment at maximally effective doses.
For more Alerts and Special Reports, please visit the Diabetes Topic page.
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