Best Glycemic Control Exercise

Combination of aerobic, resistance training may provide better glycemic control.
The AP (11/24) reports that, according to a study published in the Nov. 24 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, "people with diabetes should mix aerobics with weight training to get the best results in lowering blood sugar." What's more, "the combination worked best for weight loss too, compared to aerobics or weight training alone."
"The study participants were made up of 262 sedentary men and women who had type 2 diabetes and hemoglobin A1C levels of at least 6.5%," the Los Angeles Times (11/23, Stein) "Booster Shots" blog reported. "The men and women, average age about 56, were divided into three groups for the nine-month study: one that did resistance training, one that did aerobic training, one that did both, and a control group that did not do any exercise." Participants "in the exercise groups worked out for about 140 minutes per week."
HealthDay (11/23, Gordon) reported, "At the end of the study, the combination group had lowered their HbA1C levels by 0.34 percent compared to the control group, while the aerobic group went down 0.24 percent and the resistance-only group went down 0.16 percent." But, "the only change that was considered statistically significant, according to the study, was the combination group's change."
WebMD (11/23, Warner) pointed out that "fewer of the people in the combination exercise group needed to increase the amount of medications they required to control their disease, compared with the other groups." In fact, "39% of non-exercisers had to increase these medications, compared with 32% in the resistance training group, 22% in the aerobic exercise group, and 18% in the combination group."
According to MedPage Today (11/23, Neale), an accompanying editorial noted "that, given a specific amount of time to invest in exercise, it is more beneficial to devote some time to each form of exercise rather than devoting all the time to just one form of exercise." The Wall Street Journal (11/24, Dooren, subscription required) also covers the story.