Losing weight and keeping fit helps improve mobility for diabetics

A new study from the United States has revealed that older and overweight people who suffer from type 2 diabetes can deter many of the problems of mobility they face by losing weight and ensuring they take enough exercise.
The research, which appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that such key changes in lifestyle helped people to maintain what mobility they had as well as improving mobility problems in other people. The study, which involved over 5,000 volunteers between the ages of 45 and 74 who were overweight or obese, showed that a 1 per cent fall in someone’s weight was able to reduce chances of mobility problems by over 7 per cent.
This is a good sign regarding what can be achieved by weight reduction and getting fit in the short term, instead of waiting until mobility problems develop, especially as diabetics are believed to be at twice the risk of having mobility problems compared with non-diabetics of the same age.
W. Jack Rejeski from Wake Forest University, who led the research, said “There has yet to be really a large study like this that says, ‘This really does make a difference’” He also commented that he hoped the findings would become part of general discussion between GPs and their diabetes patients over mobility issues.