Type 2 Diabetes
Overview
Type 2 diabetes is a condition where the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or the insulin from the pancreas does not work properly. This causes blood glucose concentrations to increase to dangerously high levels. Living with type 2 diabetes without the appropriate treatment can cause complications with the eyes, heart, and feet. Despite this, with the right treatment and care, you can live well with type 2 diabetes and reduce your risk of complications. You can self-manage the condition and even revert back to prediabetic blood glucose levels through a combination of healthy eating, achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight and regular physical activity.
Physical Activity & Type 2 Diabetes
Being physically active is one of the most important things you can do to improve your general health and take the correct steps to self-manage your type 2 diabetes. If you have type 2 diabetes, a physically active lifestyle helps you effectively control your blood glucose levels. Physical activity helps in two ways:
- Physical activity makes increases your sensitivity to insulin. Insulin is the hormone that allows your body to remove glucose from the bloodstream to be used as energy in your body’s cells.
- It helps your working muscles use glucose as a fuel source, which, in turn, lowers your blood glucose levels. Your muscles need energy to move and they get this energy from the glucose in your blood, as well as the glucose stored in your muscles and, occasionally, from glucose stores in your liver.
For people with type 2 diabetes, being physically active can help improve your HbA1c, which often means that you can reduce your diabetes medications
The Benefits of Physical Activity for Type 2 Diabetes
There are many benefits of being physically active with type 2 diabetes, including:
- Improves insulin sensitivity and reduces blood glucose levels
- Improves blood pressure control. High blood pressure increases your risk of diabetes-related complications
- Helps with weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight
- Improves cholesterol levels to help protect against coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular conditions
- Improves general blood circulation
- Lowers the risk of nerve damage
- Helps to maintain muscle mass, strength, power, and balance, which can improve physical function and independence
- Improves joint health, flexibility and mobility
Physical activity benefits your mental health as well as your body. It is proven to reduce stress, improve mood, help you feel energised, improve sleep, and improve cognitive function.
There is not one specific type of physical activity that works best for everyone with type 2 diabetes. Physical activity is multidimensional, so it is important to consider all types of movement. Ultimately, it is about finding what works for you as an individual in your specific context and environment.
KiActiv® Value Proposition for Type 2 Diabetes
KiActiv® Health is a digital service that provides people with a personalised understanding of their everyday physical activity to empower behaviour change in the context of their health and capacity, enabling people to make the right choices for them.
In the context of type 2 diabetes, understanding how physical activity impacts insulin sensitivity and blood glucose levels, as well as maintaining a healthy body weight is key to self-management.
Indeed, for many people living with type 2 diabetes, physical activity is something that is often dreaded or feared, and there is a common misconception that for physical activity to be valuable it must be vigorous. As such, understanding that physical activity is more than just exercise and sport, and that every move matters, is vital for empowering effective self-management. Physical activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure and, as such, it is important that all of the movement in our lifestyles are accounted for – not just exercise. So, for individuals with type 2 diabetes, focusing on movements they enjoy or feel comfortable with is likely to result in sustained behaviour change.
Shifting the narrative from an exercise-based view to a personalised, everyday approach to physical activity is essential for better self-management of type 2 diabetes as it expands the therapy window to include all ~112 waking hours/week. This improves the accessibility and awareness of physical activity amongst individuals with type 2 diabetes, which is a key factor in increasing motivation to create healthier habits.
Here at KiActiv®, we have worked with patients with type 2 diabetes in order to manage their condition and empower individuals to self-manage their health and improve their physical activity in a personalised way. As such, KiActiv®Health provides an accessible option for everyone.
Client Quotes
“It has made me more aware of how to manage my diabetes and it has given me the facility to monitor my activity and how to balance a healthy living, because before I had nothing.” – 88 Male, Type 2 Diabetes
“Everything was equally beneficial, useful to understand more about physical activity and how improving it has different health benefits. Learning more about my calorie burn helped me to take more control of my diet.” – 65 Male, Type 2 Diabetes
“KiActiv®, has completely changed my lifestyle. I now ensure that I take regular exercise and this has reduced my blood sugar levels. My doctor is impressed!” – 70, Male, Type 2 Diabetes
“It has improved my understanding of how exercise around the house and doing daily tasks has affected my sugar levels, it has also helped me get a little fitter, lowered my blood pressure and I have lost 6 pounds in weight up until Christmas.” – 67, Male, Type 2 Diabetes
“I would recommend this to anyone who has been told they have Type 2 Diabetes. It is reversable and it is something you can do something about if only you are prepared to put in some effort. This programme helps you do that.” – 50, Female, Type 2 Diabetes
“The other good thing… my last count [blood glucose] was as a normal person would be so I’m controlling my diabetes… That’s really pleasing, my count has been down each time!” “I was determined not to have to control it with medication and do it through my own efforts and I’m really pleased I’m managing to do that” – 73, Male, Type 2 Diabetes
“It’s not about becoming a fitness freak and being obsessed. It is those subtle changes that you can make which make the difference.” – 65, Female, Type 2 Diabetes
