Physical activity and exercise

Physical activity is a key part of your management plan. Regular physical activity offers everyone a payoff, and it provides the added benefit for a person with diabetes of aiding blood glucose control. All physical activity counts-you don't have to go to a gym. Dancing, walking, taking the stairs-such activities can provide the desired benefits. Being active works on diabetes in the following ways:

Health Tips from Dr. Healy: Video: How to avoid diabetes burnout Choose another disease or condition... Allergic Rhinitis Allergies, Food Allergy & Asthma Center Alzheimer's Disease Anxiety Aortic Aneurysms Arrhythmia Arthritis, Osteo- (OA) Arthritis, Rheumatoid (RA) Asthma Atopic Dermatitis Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Back Pain Brain Tumor Bones, Joints & Muscles Center Breast Cancer Brain & Behavior Center Brain Tumor Cancer Center    Brain Tumor    Breast Cancer    Cancer Prevention    Clinical Trials    Colorectal Cancer    Endometrial Cancer    Living With and Beyond Cancer    Lung Cancer    Prostate Cancer    Skin Cancer Cardiomyopathy Cataracts Cholesterol Control Clinical Trials Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Colorectal Cancer Congenital Heart Disease Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) Crohn's Disease Depression Diabetes Center Diabetes, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Digestive Disorders Center Eczema Endometrial Cancer Erectile Dysfunction (ED) Eye & Vision Center Fibromyalgia Food Allergies Gallstone Disease Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) GERD Glaucoma Hay Fever Headache Heart Center Hepatitis A Hepatitis B Hepatitis C High Blood Pressure Hypertension Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) Impotence Insomnia Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Living With and Beyond Cancer Losing Weight Lung Cancer Macular Degeneration Memory Loss Osteoarthritis (OA) Osteoporosis Parkinson's Disease Peptic Ulcer Prediabetes Prostate Cancer Respiratory Disorders Center Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Sexual & Reproductive Health Center Sinusitis Skin Cancer Sleep Apnea Sleep Center Stroke Type 1 Diabetes Type 2 Diabetes Ulcerative Colitis (UC) Weight Control See more online resources for diabetes information More on Diabetes Types 1 Diabetes-Related Clinical Trials Information Email this page Print this section

• Physical activity can lower the level of blood glucose and improve the body's ability to use glucose. With regular exercise, the amount of insulin needed decreases.
• Physical activity decreases the risk of heart problems, a major health concern of people with diabetes.
• Exercise can reduce the body's level of low density lipoprotein (LDL), or bad cholesterol, which forms plaque that obstructs blood vessels. It also raises levels of good cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL), which protects against heart disease. Regular exercise has been shown to improve blood pressure, too.

This section has information on:

• Starting an exercise program
• High blood glucose after physical activity
• Low blood glucose after physical activity
• Unplanned exercise