Type 2 Diabetes Management through Lifestyle Changes

Running head: TYPE 2 DIABETES MANAGEMENT THROUGH LIFESTYLE CHANGES 1
Type 2 Diabetes Management through Lifestyle Changes
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TYPE 2 DIABETES MANAGEMENT THROUGH LIFESTYLE CHANGES 2
Type 2 Diabetes Management through Lifestyle Changes
Introduction
Diabetes is ranked among the most prevalent lifestyle diseases affecting people globally.
More specifically, type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a lifelong disease that abounds many health
complications and lead to increased mortality rates. The management and control of glucose
levels can help delay associated complications resulting from T2D. Balk et al., (2015) notes that,
implementation of long-term diabetes management goals especially lifestyle modification
significantly reduces the adverse health impacts associated with T2D. The emphasis on the
significance of living healthy lifestyles is justified by programs that advocate for awareness
creation to the victims of T2D on healthy living styles. Such programs advocate for the long term
behavioral and lifestyle changes among the diabetic patients to improve their quality of lives.
This paper argues that lifestyle changes based that are increased physical activity, smoking
cessation, and healthy eating habits are optimal methods of managing type 2 diabetes.
Physical Exercise
According to Aune et al. (2015), regular physical activity is instrumental in the
prevention of T2D onset, reduction of complication risks as well as improvement of blood
pressure control among the patients with T2D. Physical activity is thus a crucial measure that
enables the achievement of both prevention and management of T2D cases. The individuals
suffering from T2D have excess glucose in their blood. The excess glucose could be caused by
lack of adequate insulin to convert glucose to glucagon for storage or lack of response from the
victim’s system to insulin a phenomenon referred to as insulin resistance. In such situations,

TYPE 2 DIABETES MANAGEMENT THROUGH LIFESTYLE CHANGES 3
exercise can be used effectively to achieve glycemic control. Notably, increased physical activity
enables increased activity of the skeletal muscles and hence increased uptake of much needed
glucose into the cells to sustain activity. In this process, the excess glucose will be metabolized
to provide energy and hence reduced to manageable levels. Further, physical activity reduces the
intra-abdominal fat in people that is associated to insulin resistance hence leading to increased
insulin sensitivity.
Moreover, exercise helps prevent the victims of T2D from being infected by
opportunistic diseases like arteriosclerosis. According to Colberg et al. (2016), moderate to high
physical activity reduces significantly the cardiovascular related complications associated with
T2D. Increased physical activity through exercise effectively reduces the amount of cholesterol
in the body and hence reducing the probability of individual developing heart complications. As
such, it shall have reduced the risks of a health complication to victims of T2D. Similarly, high
blood pressure that is associated to T2D can have adverse effect to the quality of life of the T2D
patients. Physical activity reduces the probability of individuals developing the health
complication as exercise ensures weight loss. Reduction in weight implies proper blood
circulation and improved fat metabolism reducing the risk of T2D developing high blood
pressure.
Food Consumption
Salas-Salvadó et al. (2015) notes that, there is a link between diet and type 2 diabetes.
The intake of soft-drinks increases the symptoms and associated to other complications like
obesity. The rationale is due to the large quantities of fructose used in the manufacture of such