Another Reason to Exercise - #3

Increasing your muscle mass at any age may lower a person's risk of having insulin resistance and subsequently developing type 2 diabetes according to a published study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. Type 2 diabetes is becoming an epidemic in our society with it now occurring in teenagers when it previously only commonly struck people in middle age and older. It's a chronic disease that over time can damage virtually every organ system in the body. It begins with insulin resistance - the body's inability to utilize the hormone insulin properly. The study involving over 13,000 participants showed that those with higher muscle mass (in relation to body size) have a better level of insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism than higher risk individuals.* So whether you pack some on with weight work or some great boot camp workouts, do your body a favor and add some muscle.
*P. Srikanthan, A.S. Karlamangla. Relative Muscle Mass is Inversely Associated with Insulin Resistance and Prediabetes; Findings from The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2011.