Diabetes Archive

Prediabetes often precedes the development of type 2 diabetes, and in young and middle-aged people it's important to identify prediabetes because it may be possible to prevent or delay the development of diabetes. Researchers wanted to know if the implications of being diagnosed with prediabetes are similar for older adults.

In the journals

Can you be "fat and fit" — that is, overweight but still healthy because of regular exercise? There is no simple answer. But one study says that activity does not entirely reverse the effects weight has on heart health. The findings were published online Jan. 26, 2021, by the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

The study involved more than 527,000 adults, almost 70% of whom were men. People were placed into three groups based on their body mass index (BMI): normal, overweight, and obese. They also were grouped by activity level: regularly active (the minimum requirement from the World Health Organization, or WHO); insufficiently active (less than the WHO minimum, but some moderate to vigorous physical activity every week), and no exercise.

While eye problems can affect people of any age, some conditions become more common after age 40. Some are normal, or at least expected; others are of greater concern and will require treatment. Here’s how to keep your eyes healthy and address certain problems.

News briefs

Ever wonder how much exercise time it takes to start reducing your risk for heart disease and diabetes? It could be as little as 12 minutes, according to a Harvard study published Nov. 17, 2020, in Circulation. Scientists analyzed blood from more than 400 middle-aged men and women before and just after they'd pedaled for 12 minutes on cycling machines, reaching a vigorous rate. In particular, scientists measured levels of almost 600 natural body chemicals (metabolites). Exercise produced significant changes in most metabolites. For example, the level of one metabolite linked to heart disease and diabetes fell by 29%. Another metabolite tied to diabetes risk and liver disease fell by 18%. That suggests, but doesn't prove, that 12 minutes of daily exercise (that includes vigorous activity) might reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes. What if you're more of a moderate-intensity exerciser? "We don't know yet if moderate-intensity exercise would have a similar effect on metabolites. But study participants started off with very light exercise, and each minute the intensity increased," says Dr. Gregory Lewis, the study's senior author and a cardiologist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

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