Type 2 Diabetes and Exercise: A Literature Review

Introduction

Type 2 diabetes is a disease that continues to affects millions of people every day. On a global level, diabetes impacts 415 million people, with the numbers continuing to rise. It is estimated that by 2040, 642 million people will be affected by diabetes (Cradock, ALaighin, Finucane, Gainforth, Quinlan & Ginis, 2017). The focus of research in recent years have shifted from the use of medications to regulate the disease to lifestyle change in order to keep the disease under control. A primary goal would be to exercise in order to manage type 2 diabetes. This literature review takes a comprehensive look at recent literature on the impact of exercise and the prevention and management of diabetes. The conducted research is no less than 5 years old, and the researchers have dedicated these past few years exploring effective ways of finding solutions for this disease. Most of the researchers agree that exercise is important in order for diabetics to overcome this disease. Type 2 Diabetes and Exercise: A Literature Review

Review of Literature
There has been unique research on what constitutes exercise versus overall physical activity as it relates to managing type 2 diabetes (“Reports from”, 2017). While it is much more important to engage in exercise to overcome health issues, physical activity as a whole still leads to progress. Weight is a main cause of type 2 diabetes, therefore, engaging in physical activity has been proven to produce effective results. A recent study of Japanese patients also proved that physical activity can decrease the incidence of diabetic retinopathy (Kuwata, Okamura, Tsujii, & Ishii, 2017). Consequently, this study concludes “higher PA was independently associated with a lower incidence of DR in patients with type 2 diabetes. More research needs to be performed to determine if effective strategies to increase PA will reduce the risk of DR in patients with diabetes” (Kuwata et al., 2017, p. 4375). Even though the researchers recommend more studies to continue to connect physical activity with lower incidence of DR, the findings are certainly promising and opens up dialogue to similar studies.