Exercise Helps Diabetes Patients Lose Fat

Diabetic people can reduce fat deposits around the abdomen and liver by taking up some moderate-intensity exercises, according to a new study.

Type -2 diabetes occurs when the body doesn't produce enough insulin to break down sugar or when the system isn't able to use the insulin efficiently. People diagnosed with diabetes are advised to stay physically active, but how exercise affects fat deposits in the bodies of diabetics aren't known, researchers said.

"Based on previous studies, we noticed that different fat deposits in the body show a differential response to dietary or medical intervention. Metabolic and other effects of exercise are hard to investigate, because usually an exercise program is accompanied by changes in lifestyle and diet," said Hildo J. Lamb, M.D., from the Department of Radiology at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands.

The study was based on a small sample of 12 people who had taken up an exercise routine. All the study participants underwent MRI scanning before and after six months of moderate-intensity exercise. Participants also went for a 12-day trekking expedition at the end of the study.

The results showed that although exercise didn't affect the cardiovascular function of the participants, it reduced the amount of fat around the abdomen. Previous research has shown that extra weight around abdomen and liver is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.

"In the present study we observed that the second layer of fat around the heart, the peracardial fat, behaved similarly in response to exercise training as intra-abdominal, or visceral fat," Dr. Lamb said in a news release. "The fat content in the liver also decreased substantially after exercise."

Dr. Lamb added that people with diabetes type-2 may benefit more from exercises since they have a large amount of fat deposited around the liver. Since liver plays an important role in regulation of fat, keeping it healthy could reduce fat levels in other parts of the body.

The study is published in the journal Radiology.