Nordic walking and insulin resistance
I came across a research
article that tested the effect of Nordic walking on insulin resistance in
elderly women. Insulin resistance is related to Type 2 diabetes and other
disorders. In this particular case, the participants Nordic walked under
instructor supervision two hours per week.
What the researchers
found:
The participants
improved their walking distance (walked as far as they could in six minutes)
and positive improvement in insulin resistance.
- Improvement:
- BMI [body mass index]
- Waist circumference
- SBP [systolic blood pressure]
- Diastolic blood pressure (DBP)
- HDL-C [high-density lipoprotein: good cholesterol]
- hsCRP [high sensitivity C-reactive protein: caused by infections and long term diseases]
- Hemoglobin
- IRI [immunoreactive insulin]
- Unchanged:
- TG [triglycerides]
- LDL-C [low-density lipoprotein: bad cholesterol]
- GGT [serum gamma-glutamyl transferase; detect disorders of liver and bile ducts]
- Uric acid
- HbA1c [hemoglobin A1c]
- FPG [fasting plasma glucose: after overnight fast; 126 mg/dl or higher means a person has diabetes]
Regarding HbA1c, the
standard by which glucose in the blood is measured, it's not surprising it was
largely unchanged (5.7 before and 5.6 after). It's a measure over a period of
time, so HbA1c is really more affected by diet. I saw a similar
result in another research article I blogged about. That's why the Nordic
Walking Guy tells you, "Don’t'
eat like a teenager."
