How to actively manage the risks and effects of diabetes

In a guest blog from Diabetes UK, Clinical Advisor, Douglas Twenefour discusses the importance of physical activity for those suffering from diabetes, he offers some tips to reduce your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and how to manage your weight if you already have the condition.

Physical activity plays an extremely important role in helping people with diabetes to manage their condition. Regular physical activity can help lower blood glucose levels, improve fitness, prevent excess weight gain, keep the heart healthy and lower blood pressure. As well as helping individuals to manage their condition, physical activity can reduce risk of long-term complications such as heart disease, stroke or amputation.

Similar benefits apply to people who do not have diabetes. Being physically active, as part of a healthy lifestyle which includes a healthy balanced diet, can help you manage your weight and significantly reduce your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Being physically active doesn’t mean you have to join a gym. The key is to choose activities you enjoy such as dancing, walking the dog or going to an exercise class.

We know that about 80 per cent of Type 2 diabetes is linked to lifestyle, and being overweight seriously increases your chances of developing the condition. Even though getting Type 1 diabetes is not linked to weight, if you have the condition it is important to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle to help you manage your condition and overall health better.

There are currently 3.2 million people in the UK diagnosed with diabetes and an estimated 630,000 people who have Type 2 diabetes but are currently undiagnosed. The majority – approximately 90 per cent – of people diagnosed with diabetes have Type 2.

We know that research that helps us to understand how people with, or at high risk of, Type 2 diabetes can make lasting changes to their lifestyles is crucial in helping us to beat this serious and growing problem. This is why Diabetes UK has awarded significant funding over the past few years to Professor Mike Trenell at Newcastle University and other groups working on this topic.

So what are the best ways to get physically active and stay that way? Mike and his team have shared their ‘Top 10 Tips’ for reducing your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, or managing your weight if you already have the condition:

• Set physical activity goals – make them specific, measurable and time dependent (such as walking 10,000 steps a day). Keep a diary to monitor your physical activity levels.

• Review your activity goals – and it doesn’t matter if they’re short-term or long-term. Make time to think about whether you are achieving what you want.

• Plan in advance a time in your day to be active, either at home or at work.

• Get friends or family members involved in your activity, walking with you or helping you to set or monitor your goals.

• Build on your activity success – if you’re more active in one area of your daily life, such as taking the stairs, then build on that and increase activity in another way such as walking to a bus stop further away.

• Get support – phone calls from your GP practice work as well as face-to-face sessions.

• Find out what activities are going on in your local area and when they take place.

• Build on past success - motivate yourself by thinking of a time when you were more active and how it made you feel.

• What might stop you? - Think what might get in the way of you reaching your activity goal and plan around this.

• How is this going to make you healthier? - Seek out information about the health benefits of physical activity specifically for you. This might not just be improved diabetes control but also feeling more energetic, looking healthier and meeting people.

Moving more helps improve glucose control as it maintains the uptake of glucose from the blood into the muscles where it can be used for energy. An increase in energy expenditure also helps prevent weight gain which is the most significant risk factor for Type 2 diabetes.

Current guidelines recommend doing at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week. This can be achieved by doing 30 minutes of activity, five times a week, but it is also important to reduce the amount of time you spend sitting down.We know that the prospect of doing more physical activity can seem daunting, but by focusing on small challenges every day you really can make a big difference to your long-term health.

Douglas Twenefour
Douglas Twenefour is a registered dietitian and Clinical Advisor at Diabetes UK. He has extensive clinical experience within the NHS as a Specialist Obesity and Diabetes dietitian and has developed a special interest in supporting people to live healthier lifestyles.
 

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