A 25-year Finnish study has concluded that ordinary work-related type activity can help as much to reduce the risk of heart-related deaths in type 2 diabetes patients as can more intensive leisure time exercise, such as aerobics and working out.
In the first major study to draw such a conclusion, it was discovered that manual laborers and others who did a lot of walking and strenuous activity on the job, such as lifting, had a 40% lower risk of heart-related death, while moderately active workers, such as store clerks who walked and stood throughout much of the day, had a 9% reduction in risk.
The study took place between 1972 and 1997, and included 3,316 people with type 2 diabetes between the ages of 25 and 74. It took into account 18 years of follow-up, and the causes of death of 1,410 of the participants, 64% of which were heart-related. The findings were published in the Jul 27, 2004 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
“Increasing exercise could be highly important to the improvement of health and the lengthening of life among working-aged patients,” says researcher Gand Hu, MD.
The average job today does not provide this natural ongoing opportunity for physical activity. “People with diabetes need to look for ways to build activity into their work, their commute to and from work, and also their leisure time,” stresses researcher Jaakko Tuomilehto, MD, of the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki, Finland.
In this age of technological advances, which leaves many of us deskbound and inactive in the workplace, it is more important than ever to fit physical activity into our work day, as well as our spare time. “We know that type 2 diabetes can be prevented or at least postponed by physical activity and a healthy diet, but too often people think only of leisure-time physical training or other aerobic activities,” says Tuomilehto. “Physical activity during commuting is one of the easiest, least time-consuming ways to promote health.”
That’s not to say, however, that focused leisure-time physical activity is not still valuable and a worthwhile goal. Compared with the most sedentary group, and after adjusting for other risk factors, those with type 2 diabetes who were highly active in their leisure time had a 30% lower risk of heart-related death, and those who were moderately active had a 15% lower risk.
