Benefits of certain exercises may not be the same for obese diabetic women

A new study has revealed that obese women with type 2 diabetes may not see the same cardiovascular health benefits from certain exercises as obese diabetic men.
Researchers, led by Professor Jill Kanaley, of the department of nutrition and exercise physiology at the University of Missouri, analysed heart rate, blood pressure and other cardiovascular responses of about 75 obese men and women with type 2 diabetes.
To measure these responses, each participant did an isometric handgrip test, which involves continually squeezing an object for a few minutes, before and after they completed a 16-week walking program.
An improvement in cardiovascular responses was seen among the male participants after completing the program, but not among their female counterparts, indicating that certain exercises may not be enough for obese diabetic women.
“What this research highlights, at least using the handgrip test, is that the advantages we think exercise is going to give individuals may not be the same across genders, particularly for those who have type 2 diabetes,” Kanaley explained.
“This is a concern because there are high [death] rates with type 2 diabetes, especially for women. We’re trying to find successful interventions to help these individuals, and we keep assuming that exercise will do the trick – we think when we tell people to ‘go train,’ regardless of gender, everyone will get the same results.”
Kanaley suggested that obese women with type 2 diabetes may benefit from higher-intensity or longer-duration workouts, and added that the findings could help researchers and healthcare professionals develop targeted exercise routines for this group of women.