Activité physique et diabète de type 2

Regular physical exercise associated with a well balanced diet is considered for a long time as the corner stone of the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Five large prospective studies are now available to show the major role of physical activity to prevent type 2 diabetes in high risk population. Despite huge numbers of review and consensus published in the international literature, only a few studies had rigorously evaluated the efficiency of physical activity on glycemic control. Recent meta-analyses and particularly that published by the Cochrane Collaboration confirmed a moderate effect of regular physical exercise per se with a mean decrease of HbA1c of 0.6 %, without significant weight loss despite favourable changes in body weight composition. Although training programmes that have been evaluated are not homogenous, the combination of muscular resistance with aerobic exercises seems to give better results.