20pc of Type 2 diabetics do not benefit from exercise regimens

A new study has revealed that exercise regimens offer little benefits for 20 percent of patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

People develop Type 2 diabetes when their bodies become resistant to the hormone insulin that carries sugar from the blood to cells, which leads to excess sugar in the bloodstream and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects about 40 percent of Americans will develop diabetes within their lifetime.

Researcher Lauren Marie Sparks said that since obesity and lack of physical activity are two key risk factors for Type 2 diabetes, physicians frequently recommend exercise and other lifestyle interventions to prevent or manage the disease.

Sparks added that most people benefit from an exercise regimen, but their research indicates that a significant minority of individuals with Type 2 diabetes do not experience the same improvements in metabolism due to their genes.

The researchers found that around 15 percent to 20 percent of individuals with Type 2 diabetes did not see any improvement in their blood sugar control, insulin sensitivity or a measurement of fat-burning capabilities called muscle mitochondrial density.

Genetic and animal studies indicate this resistance to exercise is encoded in DNA and can be handed down through generations.

Sparks added that more research is needed to determine which people with or at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes will respond to an exercise program and which will not.

The study is published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.