Exercise keeps insulin resistance at bay

In healthy individuals, higher levels of physical activity (PA) seem to correlate with lower insulin resistance independently of waist circumference, a recent Korea study has found.

The study included 280,194 individuals without diabetes and who had undergone health examinations. The short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPQ) was used to measure PA, while insulin resistance was expressed using the homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR).

Of the participants, IPQ deemed most to be sedentary (n=137,830; 49.2 percent), while 35.1 percent (n=98,309) engaged in mild PA levels. Of note, only 15.7 percent (n=44,055) had health-enhancing degrees of PA (HEPA). Participants had a median HOMA-IR of 1.18 and were followed for a median of 4.13 years.

Multivariate analysis found that changes in PA level were tied to reductions in HOMA-IR. For example, compared with participants who remained sedentary or with mild PA throughout the study, those who were sedentary but started engaging in HEPA saw significantly decreased HOMA-IR (estimate, 0.93; p<0.001).

Participants who consistently engaged in HEPA throughout follow-up likewise had lower HOMA-IR (estimate, 0.88; p<0.001). Of note, even those who were initially engaged in HEPA but became sedentary over the course of the study still had significantly lowered HOMA-IR than comparators who were sedentary throughout (estimate, 0.94; p<0.001).

“PA level might slow the progression of IR among populations without underlying IR, independent of the waist circumference and body mass index status,” the researchers said. “Increasing the level of PA or maintaining HEPA can slow the progression of IR and improve IR.”