Cycling Tips & Stories

Need another excuse to get out on that bike? According to a Reuters report of a study of 4,984 women participating in the Aerobic Center Longitudinal Study (ACLS), keeping in good shape dramatically affects a woman's chances of developing type 2 diabetes:

Participating women were free of diabetes when the study began. Based on how long they could walk on a treadmill, the women were classified as being low fit, moderately fit, or high fit.

Eighty-two women developed diabetes during follow-up. The rate of diabetes was 3.2 percent in the low-fit group, 2.6 percent in the moderately fit group, and less than 1 percent in the high-fit group.

After considering other factors, such as age, weight, and blood sugar levels, "women who were in the highest fitness group were at lower risk for developing diabetes relative to women in a lower fitness category," Wallace said. For example, high-fit women were 70 percent less likely to develop diabetes than low-fit women.

A similar study has already been performed on male subjects, with similar results.

Related:

Tips&Stories: Percentage of overweight adults doubled in the past 10 years

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