Strength Training May Lower Diabetes Risk in Teens

A new study has been conducted by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) in which they have discovered that strength training in teenagers may help to lower their risk of type 2 diabetes. The study consisted of 22 boys ranging from ages 14 to17. They were given a personal trainer that gave them sessions in weight lifting twice a week for 16 weeks. They focused on only weight lifting and as the study went on, they had the teens doing fewer repititions but using more weight. After the study was conducted, it was found that 91 percent of the teens in the study "considerably improved their insulin sensitivity." This could lead to a decrease in the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in teenagers. This conclusion comes from knowing that overweight teenagers have higher risk for developing a resistance to to insulin, meaning that their bodies are not effectively using the hormone insulin to process blood glucose. This has been shown to lead to the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. Although this study did not help the teens to lose any total fat body mass, the teens increased their amount of muscle mass in the body and decreased their percentage of body fat. The simple act of lifting weights twice a week can potentially affect and better the lives of so many teenagers, that this study is of great importance. It has been shown that around half of all Latino teenagers in 2000 will develop type 2 diabetes so anything that can aid in the decrease to this statistic is key. I know so many friends and family members that have been affected by diabetes so it is of much interest to me to hear about ways to decrease the risk of the disease at a young age.

http://sciencedaily.healthology.com/diabetes/article3795.htm