Study shows modest physical activity could improve disease markers

Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine, or BUSM, studied the relationship of physical activity, inactivity to insulin resistance and biomarkers for disease and found that modest physical activity may reduce risk of developing insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance is the body's adverse response to insulin and is a precursor in the development of type 2 diabetes.

The study was based on data from the Framingham Heart Study, or FHS, and found that physical activity can decrease the risk of developing diseases like obesity and diabetes, while decreased levels of physical activity can increase biomarkers that contribute to insulin resistance.

Study participants wore accelerometers to determine the amount of physical activity and the amount of sedentary time spent each day.

The measurements were compared to chemical markers of insulin resistance, inflammation and metabolism in blood. Results showed that modest levels of physical activity, not enough for weight loss, were associated with decreased insulin resistance and reduced biomarkers for inflammation.

"These results may help us create specific exercise recommendations for the prevention or treatment of diseases like type 2 diabetes mellitus," Nicole Spartano, Ph.D., post-doctoral fellow and corresponding author of the study, said in a press release.

The study was published in the journal Clinical Obesity.