Increase physical activity, decrease TV to avoid diabetes

Using data collected through questionnaires in the Black Women8217;s Health Study, an ongoing prospective follow-up study of African8211;American women from across the US, the researchers found that vigorous activity was inversely associated with a reduced risk of diabetes.

Brisk walking for five plus hours/week was also associated with a reduced risk of diabetes, as compared to no walking.

Television watching was linked to an increased risk of diabetes. The researchers found the risk of type 2 diabetes was increased among women who spent an appreciable amount of time watching television. This increase was apparent whether or not a woman was physical active.

8220;Our results confirm that vigorous activity is protective against type 2 diabetes in African-American women,8221; said study author Julie Palmer, a professor of epidemiology at the Slone Epidemiology Centre at Boston University.

8220;A key public health finding is that brisk walking reduced risk. That is important because many women don8217;t have the time or place to engage in 8220;vigorous8221; physical activity, but most women can find time to walk,8221; Palmer added.

The study appears on-line in the American Journal of Epidemiology.