HIGH FITNESS LEVEL REDUCES DIABETES RISK

A higher level of heart-lung fitness may reduce your risk for prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, new research finds.

The study provides evidence to support the widely held belief that fitness is beneficial in reducing the risk for prediabetes/diabetes.

Specifically, an 8 percent to 11 percent higher fitness level reduced the risk of prediabetes or type 2 diabetes by 0.1 percent.

That higher level of fitness required either vigorous exercise for 30 minutes a day, five days a week, or moderate exercise for 40 minutes a day, five days a week, the researchers said.

While higher levels of fitness were associated with only a small reduced risk of prediabetes or type 2 diabetes on an individual basis, the effect is significant in terms of the overall population, the study.

"As this benefit remained significant even when adjusting for BMI, exercise programs remain critically important for reducing the development of prediabetes and diabetes," the study authors concluded.

Read more on the benefits of exercise here.