Inactivity Can Quickly Trigger Diabetes in Seniors

A study published in the Journals of Gerontology found a brief period of inactivity can activate diabetes in older adults, reports HealthDay News . The researchers asked overweight individuals with prediabetes to reduce their daily steps to no more than 1,000 a day for two weeks. This caused elevated blood sugar levels and accelerated onset of type 2 diabetes, with some subjects not fully recovering even after resuming normal activity. "We expected to find that the study participants would become diabetic, but we were surprised to see that they didn't revert back to their healthier state when they returned to normal activity," notes McMaster University's Chris McGlory. The results suggest seniors who become inactive due to illness, bed rest, or hospitalization are more likely to experience harmful health effects. "Treatment of type 2 diabetes is expensive and often complicated," says McMaster Professor Stuart Phillips. "If people are going to be off their feet for an extended period, they need to work actively to recover their ability to handle blood sugar." McGlory recommends "active rehabilitation, dietary changes, and perhaps medication" as strategies for prediabetic older adults to follow to recover metabolic health and prevent further declines from inactivity.