Association of Physical Activity with Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Physical activity has shown to prevent type diabetes 2. However, the type, intensity and amount of effective physi­cal activity as well as individual's needs according to level of their risk for type 2 diabetes have not been clarified comprehen­sively. This study investigated a relation between moderate aerobic physical activity ≥150 minuets/week with de­creased risk of type 2 diabetes among obese and non-obese residents of south of Tehran, Iran. This study, which was a part of the Cardiovascular Risk Factors Survey in Tehran population Lab region, was de­signed and conducted based on MONICA/WHO project. Totally, 1552 adult inhabitants of 17th district of Tehran were en­rolled in this cross-sectional study. Physical activity was assessed by MONICA Optional Study of Physical Activity question­naire. Diabetes was defined as a history of a prior diagnosis of diabetes or fasting serum glucose ≥126 mg/dl. All data analyses were conducted using SPSS 17 software for Windows. In a multivariate model, moderate aerobic physical activity ≥150 minuets/week was significantly associated with de­creased risk of type 2 diabetes in all and non-obese subjects [OR= 0.56; 95%CI: 0.35-0.91 and OR= 0.50; 95%CI: 0.26-0.94, respectively]. There was no significant relation between the physical activity and type 2 diabetes risk in obese subjects [OR=0.64; 95%CI: 0.30-1.39]. Moderate aerobic physical activity ≥150 minuets/week was significantly associated with decreased risk of type 2 diabetes in non-obese people and could be an acceptable exercise goal for these individuals. However, obese people should be investigated more to produce a tailored exercise guideline to this population at high risk of type 2 diabetes.