The study, published recently in Diabetes Care, and carried out by Xuemei Sui, of the University of South Carolina, Columbia, and colleagues, looked at over 6000 women between the ages of 20 and 79 who did not have cardiovascular disease, cancer or diabetes when the study started. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured using a treadmill test and the women were categorised as having either low, medium or high fitness based on this. A total of 143 cases of type 2 diabetes occured during a 17-year follow up period.
The risk of developing type 2 diabetes was least among those women who scored medium or high on the treadmill test.
Researchers also looked at the women's body mass index (BMI), a commonly used measure of whether or not a person is overweight. Overweight and obese women had a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who were normal weight. Looking at the two factors together, researchers found that while fitness did have a protective effect, in overweight women it did not completely eliminate the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
This study is yet another indication that, on a population level, we need to increase daily exercise and reduce body fat.
