Walking may reduce risk of type 2 diabetes in older adults: study

Regular walking can help prevent type 2 diabetes in people in their 70s and 80s, according to new research.

The study was published in the Diabetes Care Journal.

“A key figure from our study is that for 1,000 steps per day, our results showed a 6% lower risk of diabetes in this population. This means that if the average older person were to take 2,000 more steps each day in more than they were already doing, they could expect a 12% reduction in diabetes risk,” said first author Alexis C. Garduno, a third-year student in the University of California in San Diego and San Diego State University in Public Health.

A team of multi-institutional researchers analyzed data from the Women’s Health Initiative, whose objective was to characterize physical activity and cardiovascular health in postmenopausal women.

READ ALSO: 7 reasons to go for a walk every day

For the current prospective study, a diverse cohort of women aged 65 and older, who were undiagnosed with diabetes and living independently, were asked to wear a research-grade accelerometer for 24 hours a day on right hip for a week. Their health was followed for up to seven years.

“We wanted to understand how walking, or walking, is related to diabetes. And is 10,000 steps a day really necessary for people to reduce their risk of diabetes?” said lead author John Bellettiere, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of epidemiology at UC San Diego’s Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science.

The main objective of the study was to assess the associations between the total number of steps taken per day and the development of diabetes. The secondary objective was to assess whether the intensity or cadence of steps influenced the risk of diabetes.

Of the 4,838 women in the study, 395 or 8% developed diabetes.

Adults aged 65 and over often live with mobility problems or disabilities. As physical activity decreases, their risk of type 2 diabetes increases.

According to the American Diabetes Association, 1.5 million people are diagnosed with diabetes each year.

“If we estimate that one-third of this population are older adults, that’s 500,000 older people who are newly diagnosed with diabetes each year. If everyone increases their steps by 2,000 steps per day and our estimate of 12% turns out to be occasional, we would expect that 60,000 people would not get diabetes each year because of this increase in steps,” a declared Bellettiere.

Previous prevention studies had shown that regular physical activity, combined with an improved diet, reduced the risk of diabetes in adults. In fact, the US Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week to reduce the risk of many chronic diseases, including diabetes.

Age plays an important role in physical activity intensity levels, Bellettiere said.

“What moderate-intensity activity is for an older person is very different from what moderate-intensity activity is for a middle-aged or young adult. People with reduced mobility don’t have to walk as far, as fast, or uphill to do moderate-to-vigorous intensity activity,” he said.

“When we talk about moderate-to-vigorous intensity steps, we’re talking about the type of step that makes you breathe a little hard and make it harder to engage in conversation. For the average person in their 70s or 80s, it’s enough to walk around the block once is a moderate to vigorous intensity activity,” he added.

Because all steps count, not just those taken for exercise, the accelerometers used in the study count steps throughout the day, whether an individual is at home moving from room to the other, taking a walk outside or going to a grocery store.

More randomized controlled trials are needed to determine the exact number of steps required for risk reduction, the researchers said. In the future, clinicians may be able to customize a physical activity plan by analyzing how an individual’s genetic risk or family history of diabetes influences the number of steps needed per day to reduce their risk of diabetes. Garduno said.

“It’s important, even if you’ve avoided diabetes, to continue and incorporate regular walking into your daily schedule and make it a routine,” Garduno said.

“It’s not enough for someone to go for a walk once a week. Our study indicates that regular walking is indicative of a lower risk of diabetes in older people,” Garduno added.

Co-authors included: Andrea Z. LaCroix, UC San Diego; Benjamin T. Schumacher, UC San Diego and San Diego State University; Michael J. LaMonte, State University of New York; David W. Dunstan, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute and Australian Catholic University; Kelly R. Evenson of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Guangxing Wang and Chongzhi Di, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

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