Exercise may reduce person's genetic susceptibility to disease
PTC News Desk: According to recent studies, even those with a high genetic risk of getting type 2 diabetes can reduce their risk by staying active.
The study discovered the correlation between higher levels of overall physical activity, mainly moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity and a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
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The researchers say the study demonstrates higher levels of physical activity should be promoted as a major strategy for type 2 diabetes prevention, which affects millions of Australians.
The study involved 59,325 adults from the UK Biobank, who wore accelerometers (activity trackers worn on their wrist) at the start of the study and were then followed for up to seven years to track health outcomes.
The UK Biobank is a large-scale biomedical database and research resource containing anonymised genetic, lifestyle and health information from half a million UK participants.
This included genetic markers associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. People with a high genetic risk score had 2.4 times the risk of developing type 2 diabetes when compared with those with a low genetic risk score.
The study showed more than an hour of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity per day was associated with a 74 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes when compared with participants who did less than 5 minutes of physical activity,
This was even when other factors, including genetic risk, were accounted for.
Another compelling finding was that participants with a high genetic risk, but who were in the most physically active category, actually had a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes when compared with those with a low genetic risk but in the least active category.
Examples of vigorous-intensity physical activity include running, aerobic dancing, cycling uphill or at a fast pace and heavy gardening such as digging - all activities that make you out of breath or cause you to breathe heavily.
Notably, Diabetes is a global public health concern. In 2021, there were 537 million adults living with diabetes worldwide. Almost 1.2 million Australians were recorded as living with type 2 diabetes in 2020.
- ANI
