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There is a strong link between diabetes and fitness. Many studies have shown that people with type 2 diabetes lose more muscle mass and strength over time than people with normal blood sugars. This is thought to be a major reason why diabetes is associated with functional limitation, impaired mobility, and loss of independence. Studies have also shown that combining aerobic and resistance training can not only improve blood sugars in people who have diabetes, but can also prevent diabetes from developing.

For these reasons, scientists are very interested in the relationship between diabetes and fitness, teasing out the differences between muscle strength and cardiorespiratory fitness.

In a 2019 study published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings, researchers looked at 4,681 adults, measured their muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness, and followed them over about eight years. Both upper and lower body muscle strength were measured using bench and leg presses at increasing loads, and participants were scored as having low, medium, or high strength based on the maximum weight lifted per kilogram of body weight.

They found that those with medium strength had a 32% reduced risk of developing diabetes than those with low strength. This is all fine and good and consistent with prior research. However, they did not see that those with high strength had any further reduction of diabetes risk. As a matter of fact, there was no association at all.

How could this be?

The authors focus largely on the also very important cardiorespiratory fitness factor. They point out that those participants with medium strength also tended to have good cardiorespiratory fitness, with good correlation between the two. However, in the low and high strength groups, it was a bit of a mix, with some people in the low strength group having high cardiorespiratory fitness, and vice versa. They point out that there may be added benefit to having both good muscle strength and good cardiorespiratory fitness, not just good muscle strength alone.

But another consideration is how things like strength and cardiorespiratory fitness are measured. It's important to note that just about every study looking at muscle strength uses a different method than this study. Hand grip strength is very common, for example. One large 2018 study of 8,208 Korean adults found that stronger hand grip strength was significantly associated with lower fasting blood sugars, HbA1c levels, and fasting insulin levels (all markers of prediabetes and diabetes). It's possible that hand grip is somehow a superior method of measuring strength than bench and leg press, or vice versa.

Maybe cardiorespiratory fitness is the more important factor after all?

This has been found to be particularly important in diabetes prevention. One large 2018 study out of Japan looked specifically at cardiorespiratory fitness (as measured by oxygen uptake while exercising on a cycle ergometer) in 7,804 men, and followed them over about 20 years, checking several times to see if anyone developed diabetes. They found that higher cardiorespiratory fitness was significantly associated with lower risk of developing diabetes at all follow-up periods. This is a pretty powerful association, though it would be good to do this study in women and in other ethnic groups.

Let's look at the big picture

Being in good overall shape, meaning having both decent muscle strength and cardiorespiratory fitness, is just good for you. Both can very likely lower your risk of developing diabetes, and even if you have diabetes, being fit can improve your blood sugars.

Follow me on Twitter @drmoniquetello

Resources

Association of Muscular Strength and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, March 11, 2019.

Accelerated Loss of Skeletal Muscle Strength in Older Adults with Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Care, June 2007.

Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Show a Greater Decline in Muscle Mass, Muscle Strength, and Functional Capacity With Aging. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, August 2013.

Muscle dysfunction in type 2 diabetes: a major threat to patient's mobility and independence. Acta Diabetologica, December 2016.

Effects of Aerobic and Resistance Training on Hemoglobin A1c Levels in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes. JAMA, November 24, 2010.

Association between muscle strength and type 2 diabetes mellitus in adults in Korea. Medicine, June 2018.

Long-term Impact of Cardiorespiratory Fitness on Type 2 Diabetes Incidence: A Cohort Study of Japanese Men. Journal of Epidemiology, May 5, 2018.

Source: Harvard Health Publishing

Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has encouraged Nigerian nurses looking for better opportunities abroad to pursue their goals.

The former Governor of Anambra State stated this while addressing students of the College of Nursing Sciences in Adazi-Nnukwu over the weekend.

“I have always told the Nursing Council not to restrict you people from travelling abroad after graduation. If it is not going to work for you here, go to where it will work for you.

We will not advise anyone to stay where it is difficult for them. If you want to seek greener pastures outside, please go. I’m sure that when we build a greater Nigeria, you will come back.

My PA, Michael-Jude who was here with me the last time I came here has travelled abroad. He got married to a nurse, and the UK government granted his wife and her husband all rights to study, and he is now in UK. As I am now, I am looking for a new PA,” he said.

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The monarch stated this on Saturday, November 9, during the celebration of the fourth annual “Odun Olodunmare” in his palace, in Iwo.

According to him, “What Nigerians need at this time, was to go back to God and ask for forgiveness and wisdom to solve the various economic challenges facing the country.

When things are going like this, we should take everybody back to God, just as I am doing today.

So that, if there is any sin of being an ingrate or ungrateful to God, then he can forgive us.

We need God’s intervention and all of us need to go back to this one God, who will give us the wisdom so that all these curses will be removed from our heads.”

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The CJN made this known on Saturday, November 9, 2024, at an event in Lagos.

Justice Kekere-Ekun, who was the Chairperson of the event, used the opportunity to advice all judges to remember that as “individuals, each person is accountable to his or herself and to God”

She stressed that public acceptance of the law also hinges on its alignment with fundamental principles, the need for clarity, stability and independence of the judiciary, as well as the fair exercise of authority by law enforcement.

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Ladies has prayed never to become ‘Lord of the Rings’ as a Nigerian man proposes to the woman he met just 50 days ago.

Yesterday, a man had the joy of proposing to his girlfriend, exactly 50 days after they first met. By the second week, he already knew she was the one he wanted to marry. This is a reminder that we often know what we want but are simply waiting for the right person to come along.

Given how the year began, he never expected to even have a girlfriend, let alone be preparing for marriage. But God had a different plan, and he’s grateful it all came together as it did.

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