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Taking a brisk walk several times a week for exercise appears to reduce black women’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study published this month in the American Journal of Epidemiology, Reuters Health reports. Few studies have been conducted on the benefits of exercise among black women, according to Reuters. For the study, Julie Palmer of Boston University and colleagues used data from the ongoing Black Women’s Health Study that followed 45,000 black women from 1995 to 2005.

Researchers found that those who said they walked for a minimum of five hours weekly for exercise were one-third less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who did not walk. The risk of being diagnosed with the disease was significantly lower among women who said they regularly took a brisk walk even when taking into account possible contributing factors such as age, income and diet. The study included a large number of obese women and they too appeared to have a lower risk for developing diabetes if they exercised regularly.

Palmer said, “This is important, because it suggests a way to reduce diabetes risk even among the women who are at highest risk of the disease,” adding, “The finding that brisk walking for a few hours a week or longer reduces diabetes risk may be the most important finding of all. This is something almost all women can do in the course of their daily lives.”

Researchers also found that women who watched television for five or more hours a day were 86% more likely to develop diabetes than those who watched less than one hour per day (Norton, Reuters Health, 12/18).

An abstract of the study is available online.

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

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ScienceDaily (Dec. 23, 2008) — Overweight siblings of children with type 2 diabetes are four times more likely to have abnormal glucose levels compared to other overweight children. Because abnormal glucose levels may indicate risk for diabetes or diabetes itself, these children could benefit from screening tests and diabetes prevention education. Researchers from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia published their findings December 9 in the online edition of the Journal of Pediatrics.
“To our knowledge, previous studies have not specifically looked at the risk of abnormal glucose tolerance among siblings of children diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. This group has a unique combination of genetic and environmental risk factors,” said Sheela N. Magge, M.D., M.S.C.E., a pediatric endocrinologist at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and primary author of the study. “Clinical experience suggests that children with type 2 diabetes often have an obese sibling, which makes siblings an appropriate target for prevention trials.”
The study looked at 62 children: 20 obese subjects with a sibling who had type 2 diabetes and a control group of 42 obese children. The groups were similar for age, gender, racial distribution (predominantly African American), pubertal status and body mass index over 95th percentile.

The researchers found that overweight siblings of children with type 2 diabetes had four times greater odds of having abnormal glucose levels (impaired glucose tolerance or type 2 diabetes) than other overweight children. However, investigators found no significant differences in insulin resistance, as measured by the homeostasis model assessment.
Type 2 diabetes is caused by a combination of both genetic and environmental factors. Known risks include obesity, decreased physical activity, race/ethnicity, family history and insulin resistance. Obesity decreases insulin sensitivity, as does puberty, when all adolescents experience a period of relative insulin resistance. In obese adolescents already at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the increase in insulin resistance during puberty may be enough to unmask disease. Family history is also important; 74 to 100 percent of children with type 2 diabetes have a first- or second-degree relative who also has the condition.
Not all children with a family history of type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance or obesity develop type 2 diabetes, cautions Dr. Magge.
The researchers also add that identifying groups at high risk for type 2 diabetes during childhood, such as obese siblings of children with type 2 diabetes, could help guide screening of obese children for abnormal glucose tolerance by primary care providers. This could also help to identify children who might benefit from participation in future type 2 diabetes prevention studies.
Dr. Magge’s coauthors were Nicolas Stettler, M.D., M.S.C.E.; Abbas Jawad, M.Sc., Ph.D.; and Lorraine E. Levitt Katz, M.D.; all of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania.

The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Center for Research Resources.

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (2008, December 23). Overweight Siblings Of Children With Type 2 Diabetes Likely To Have Abnormal

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The editors of Men’s Health and Women’s Health magazines reveal the first-ever ranking of America’s Best & Worst Cities for Women and the eighth annual ranking of America’s Best & Worst Cities for Men. The lists appear in the January/February editions of both magazines, hitting newsstands on Tuesday, December 23.

Topping the healthiest cities list for women is Salt Lake City, Utah while Madison, Wisconsin took the top spot for the men’s list. The worst cities for women and men are Bakersfield, California and Charleston, West Virginia, respectively.

The magazines’ editors tallied 38 different factors to determine the rankings, including cancer rates, air quality and number of gym memberships. The analysis took into consideration 100 of America’s largest cities (from all 50 states) and focused on the overall health, fitness and quality of life for their residents. The comprehensive report focuses specifically on major cities, not their suburbs, and utilizes data from sources such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Census Bureau, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Labor.

Seven cities overlap with high rankings on healthy living for both men and women (in the top ten spots): Aurora, Colorado; Madison, Wisconsin; Minneapolis, Minnesota; San Francisco and San Jose, California; Salt Lake City, Utah and Seattle, Washington. The bottom ten spots on both lists include Bakersfield, California; Birmingham, Alabama; Charleston, West Virginia; Detroit, Michigan; Memphis, Tennessee; St. Louis, Missouri and St. Petersburg, Florida.

The top ten best and worst cities for each gender are featured in the print editions of Men’s Health and Women’s Health magazines. A complete ranking of all 100 cities can be found on WomensHealthmag.com and MensHealth.com.

Featured in the January/February edition of Men’s Health Magazine:

Ten Best Cities For Men

1. Madison, WI
2. St. Paul, MN
3. Salt Lake City, UT
4. Seattle, WA
5. Aurora, CO
6. San Jose, CA
7. Lincoln, NE
8. San Francisco, CA
9. Boston, MA
10. Minneapolis, MN

The 10 Worst Cities For Men

91. Detroit, MI
92. Jacksonville, FL
93. Riverside, CA
94. Bakersfield, CA
95. Memphis, TN
96. Birmingham, AL
97. St. Petersburg, FL
98. Las Vegas, NV
99. St. Louis, MO
100. Charleston, WV

Featured in the January/February edition of Women’s Health Magazine:

The 10 Best Cities For Women

1. Salt Lake City, UT
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Seattle, WA
4. San Jose, CA
5. Denver, CO
6. Minneapolis, MN
7. Fargo, ND
8. Madison, WI
9. Manchester, NH
10. Aurora, CO

The 10 Worst Cities For Women

91. St. Petersburg, FL
92. Birmingham, AL
93. Modesto, CA
94. Cleveland, OH
95. Detroit, MI
96. Charleston, WV
97. Toledo, OH
98. Memphis, TN
99. St. Louis, MO
100. Bakersfield, CA

Women’s Health Magazine
Men’s Health Magazine
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