Diabetes
People who exercise regularly could significantly reduce the risk of developing diabetes, British Heart Foundation (BHF) researchers have found.
According to a research team from the University of Glasgow, moderate exercise could help people to reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, which is currently the most common form of the condition.
Type 2 diabetes is genetically linked, and children with parents suffering from this form of diabetes are more likely to develop the condition compared to someone with no genetic link.
However, recent studies suggest more can be done to stop this happening. For example, children of diabetes sufferers who take up moderate exercise such as football or ballet dancing could lower their risk of becoming a diabetic to the same level as children with no link to the disease at all.
"Our preliminary results show that by doing regular, moderate exercise, this high-risk group can achieve huge changes in their metabolism to the point where they appear to be at no more risk of diabetes than people with no family history," said Dr Jason Gill, team leader on the research project. Genetically-linked diabetes is by far the most common form of the disease with around 1.35 million people in the UK diagnosed as suffering from it.
