Middle-aged? Get weightlifting to avoid type 2 diabetes

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-06-23 01:00

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Lifting weights throughout midlife is an effective way to avoid developing type 2 diabetes, according to international scientists, especially if you get your cardio in too. The team looked at resistance training habits and type 2 diabetes in 143,715 US adults, following up for an average of 19.2 years. Firstly, they found that, compared with avoiding the gym altogether, people who lifted for two hours or more per week were less likely to have developed diabetes during follow-up. Another analysis showed that consistently hitting the gym for just half an hour or more during midlife reduced a person's diabetes risk by 42%, and even less consistent gym visitors saw a drop in their risk of diabetes by 21%, compared with committed gym avoiders. The people who were least likely to develop diabetes were those who consistently did cardiovascular as well as resistance training, and didn't watch much TV, the authors conclude.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Zhejiang University School of Medicine, China, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, USA

Funder: The Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) is supported by grant NCI UM1 CA186107 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH); the Nurses’ Health Study II (NHS II), by grant NCI U01 CA176726 from the NIH; and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS), by grant U01 CA167552 from the NIH. Additional support came from grant 311109/2023-3 from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (Dr Rezende).

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