Diabetics can benefit from daily walks, but when should you walk and for how long?

If you have Type 2 diabetes, you may have heard that you could benefit from daily walks. But did you know that when you walk can make a difference? In a new study published in Diabetologia, scientists compared two sets of advice adults with Type 2 diabetes are often given: going for a 30-minute walk each day, or walking for 10 minutes after each main meal. What they found?

Try this to reverse prediabetes and avoid getting diabetes

You’ve been putting on some weight lately. It’s nothing crazy; it’s just a little bit each year. You know that it probably has something to do with your diet, or maybe that soda habit. Besides dusting off the old basement treadmill in January, you aren’t big on “working out,” though you know you probably should. You are out of breath much quicker these days so you make a mental note to self to try to walk more. Otherwise, you feel reasonably healthy, maybe a little high blood pressure or cholesterol.

Is all that sitting shortening your life?

The issue of too much sitting has been catching national headlines, with recent studies associating that desk job with an increased risk of mortality. Research has shown prolonged sitting may increase your risk for fatty liver disease, and that even regular exercise may not be enough to counteract its harmful effects. Now, a new study is adding another reason to get that walking desk – your life span.

Standing at work, a proactive step you can take against Type 2 diabetes

Sitting is bad, and standing is good. That’s been the message of 2015 -- that even if you go for a run after work, the amount of time you sat helped to increase your risk for diabetes and death. Yikes. But a lot of jobs involve necessary sitting, and not all employers are health-minded enough to spring for standing desks. Nevertheless, desk workers have some hope. An article published in Diabetes Care shows that the bad effects of sitting can be alleviated by standing and walking intermittently.

Seniors can improve health with just 15 minutes of walking a day

“I want to do exercise, but the idea is boring,” said one senior citizen patient, glumly. Fair enough. Who really jumps at the word “exercise”? This most beneficial of pastimes pales as a suggestion when compared with “baklava,” “Downton Abbey marathon,” or “cocktail party.” And the World Health Organization says that we are supposed to get 30 minutes per day, five days per week, at a moderate (fast walking) or vigorous (running) pace! This is enough to daunt a great many people.

‘Stand up’ for your life!

If your co-workers are asking for standing desks and eating their lunches while walking around the parking lot, they’ve probably heard the latest medical news — that sitting can kill you.