Diabetes mellitus is a disorder of the carbohydrate metabolism characterized by high blood sugar levels. It is known to be an important CVD risk factor and it is often accompanied by overweight or obesity.
Diabetes mellitus develops when there is inadequate production of insulin by the pancreas, or inadequate utilization of insulin by the cells. Clinically, two major forms are distinguished: type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile onset diabetes, and type 2 diabetes, also known as adult onset diabetes.
Although about 90% of all diabetes patients suffer from type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes is more common among children and adolescents and presents an important health problem in youth. However, the prevalence of type-2 diabetes among youngsters has increased enormously over the last 10 years. This increase has been mainly linked to the ‘obesity epidemic’ among youngsters.
In adults physical activity has many desirable effects for people with diabetes, particularly those with type 2 diabetes. Glycaemic control is improved, possibly due to the insulin like effect of muscle contractions on translocating glucose from the plasma into the cell. Exercise leads to an increase in muscle mass and therefore to lower blood glucose levels, assisting in better glycaemic and blood sugar control. The latter can reduce insulin resistance. Some researchers believe that physical activity can have an effect on glycaemic control in children with both type-1 and type-2 diabetes, but in other studies this has not been confirmed.
The outcome variables most commonly used in studies relating physical activity to insulin metabolism disorders are glucose and insulin concentrations of blood serum. When reviewing the literature there are not many studies investigating the relationship between physical activity and glucose and insulin concentrations in children and adolescents.
Regarding blood glucose, the few studies carried out have not shown any influence of physical activity in children and adolescents. More consistent results are found in the more limited number of studies on obese children and adolescents. In these studies, a positive (i.e. healthy) effect of physical activity was found on parameters related to insulin metabolism.
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