Exercise and type 2 diabetes: a review on exercise recommendation, mechanism of action, exercise-related risk and innovative exercise approach / Mohamad Hafiz Abu Seman

Diabetes mellitus or high blood glucose level is one of the non-communicable chronic diseases and complex illnesses that require thorough medical care with multidisciplinary approaches beyond blood sugar level control. Diabetes is defined as a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism due to disturbances in production or utilization of insulin (or both), resulting in high blood glucose levels and loss of sugar in the urine. There are two categories of diabetes which are type 1 and type 2, with most cases of diabetes being type 2. In Malaysia, overall diabetes cases among adults aged 18 years old have grown up to 17.5% in 2015 which is about 3.5 million adults living with this condition. There are a variety of measures diabetic patients can take to control the condition. Engaging in exercise is one of the effective non-pharmacological approaches to manage and/or prevent diabetes. The exercise recommendation for type 2 diabetes patients is well explained and discussed in this review. The mechanism of exercise in lowering blood glucose levels is also described thoroughly. Besides, this review also briefly highlights the exercise-related risk and innovative exercise approaches for diabetic populations.