Wow, it’s now been shown that walking, in the form of a daily step count, is at least as good as medication for lowering blood sugar in type 2 diabetes.
This happens when a doctor writes a prescription – not for a drug, but for a daily step count – and hands it to the diabetic patient.
A very clever study comes from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre.
Dr. Kaberi Dasgupta already knew that regular walking can bring a 40 percent reduction in vascular event rates in a 10 year period for type 2 diabetics.
But Dr. Dasgupta says in a report in Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism that merely telling patients “to be more physically active simply doesn’t work.”
The directive of “be more physically active,” or something similar like “get more exercise” is way too abstract for a sedentary person who’s drawn to spending large amounts of time in a chair or couch.
Dr. Dasgupta, principal author of the study, says that the objective of the study was “to use step counts almost as a medication.”
She specializes in prevention and management of blood vessel disease in diabetics and those at risk for diabetes.
For years, she’s been intrigued by the concept of counting daily steps and how this impacts health.
Counting steps eliminates the hassle of keeping track of distances or times.
The counting is done with a pedometer, absolving the patient from any conscious tracking other than to periodically check the pedometer to make sure they’re on course for completing a minimal number of steps by bedtime.
The Step Counting Study
Freepik.com, drobotdean
• 364 patients and 74 doctors representing different Montreal hospitals
• Some patients had written prescriptions for step counts and were given a pedometer.
• One year later it was found that the patients who’d been given the step count prescriptions had taken 1,200 more steps per day, on the average, than the patients who’d not been given the prescription.
• It’s amazing what difference a piece of paper can make, though the pedometer certainly helped as well. The other patients were merely TOLD to walk more.
• Patients with type 2 diabetes, on the step count prescription, lowered their glucose levels.
This is the first study showing that a written prescription for taking more steps can benefit health.
Hmmm, what if a prescription was written for strength training?
Freepik.com
It would have to be very specific, since “do strength training” is far more abstract than “get in 10,000 steps a day and this pedometer will record your steps.”
But perhaps a prescription for strength training can come with a tension band and illustrated instructions for the band!
I’d love to see a study on how effective this would be for people with type 2 diabetes or other kinds of patients including healthy who are simply having their annual physical.
At least 10,000 steps a day is recommended for all people, not just those with type 2 diabetes.
Under 5,000 steps a day is a potential forerunner of developing this metabolic disorder as well as suffering from vascular events like a transient ischemic attack.
