Low-intensity physical activity is associated with reduced risk of incident type 2 diabetes in older adults: evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

Description

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of small amounts of low-intensity physical activity on the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in a national sample of people aged 50 years and over from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. A study cohort of 7,466 individuals (55.9% women) free from self-reported doctor diagnosed diabetes was prospectively followed for a mean of 45.3 months. Overall, physical activity was associated with a decreased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, after adjustment for all covariates. Moreover, there were significant age differences in the association between physical activity and incident type 2 diabetes. In middle-aged (50 to 69 years) individuals, only vigorous/moderate physical activity conferred protection against diabetes. However, at older ages (≥70 years) any type of physical activity was associated with reduced diabetes risk compared with physical inactivity, and no dose-response association was observed. In addition, this study found that obesity only partly explained the association between physical activity and diabetes meaning that it is not only through body weight control that physical activity reduces the risk of diabetes. Thus, these results support the recommendations to promote physical activity for adults at every age in order to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.