Pick up the pace on exercise for Type 2 diabetes

ORLANDO, Fla. (WPVI) -- If you have Type 2 diabetes, you might want to swap your walking shoes for a pair made for running.

A new study shows that 10 minutes of high-intensity exercise improved blood sugar, weight and cholesterol better than 30 minutes of lower-intensity exercise for Type 2 diabetics.

In the past, diabetes management programs have emphasized sustained, lower-intensity activity like walking.

However, researchers found that after three months of higher-paced exercise in 10-minute bursts, done three times a day, five days a week, patients had 2.3 times the improvement in the A1c levels compared to those who walked for 30 minutes a day, five times a week.

And they had a three-fold reduction in body mass index compared to the walkers.

Study leader Avinash Pandey, an undergraduate student at the University of Western Ontario, says the "burst"-exercise patients actually ended up exercising more, because the 10-minute intervals were easier to fit into busy schedules.

Pandey believes the higher-intensity exercise works better because it uses energy in a different way.

He plans to continue looking at short-burst exercises vs. sustained exercise in larger and more varied patient populations.

The research was presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions meeting in Orlando, Florida.

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