Unfit adults prone to diabetes

People who are in poor shape as young adults are at a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes later on.

Studies in the past have found that obese people are up to 80 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who maintain a healthy body weight.

To explore the association between fitness changes over 7 and 20 years and the risk of developing diabetes in middle age, researchers from America studied 5,115 adults aged 18 to 30 years. The participants were made to complete a treadmill test that required them to walk and run at an increasing pace and a steepening grade for up to 18 minutes.

The participants underwent the test thrice - first at the beginning of the study, the second time after seven years, and again after 20 years. Overall, 149 women and 122 men developed diabetes. The people who lasted for the least amount of time on the treadmill, at the beginning of the study, were the most likely to develop diabetes during follow-up.

After 7 years, women's fitness had declined by 8%, while men's fitness had dropped by 9%, but not everybody's fitness declined. The more out of shape people got during those 7 years, the more likely they were to develop diabetes, even after the researchers accounted for factors like age, race, smoking status, family history of diabetes and other relevant factors.

Also, people who had developed diabetes after 20 years showed larger fitness declines over time than people who remained free of the disease. Obesity accounted for most of the fitness-diabetes relationship.

The researchers recommended that young adults should follow a good physical activity regime and maintain their body weight.