A single workout can lower your blood sugar for a few hours or a few days, but when you make exercise a habit, the positive effects really start to snowball. “Consistent exercise reduces insulin resistance, which is the primary factor in the development of type 2 diabetes,” says Joseph Barrera, MD, an endocrinologist with Providence Mission Hospital in Orange, California.
If you’re an otherwise healthy person, completing 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week can reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes by as much as 46 percent.
And if you have prediabetes, you’re four times more likely to reverse the condition if you exercise for 150 minutes each week.
If you already have diabetes, exercise can make your condition easier to manage as well. People with type 2 diabetes who exercise can lower their A1C by around 0.67 percent, and people with type 1 diabetes who exercise can typically reduce their daily insulin dose by 6 to 18 percent.
Regular exercise makes you more sensitive to insulin, enabling your cells to use glucose for energy more effectively.
“Your insulin needs drop, so you don’t need as much around meals, between meals, or overnight,” says Dr. Riddell. Exercise also reduces systemic inflammation, which in turn increases insulin sensitivity as well.
Your body composition also starts to change in ways that support healthy blood sugar. Even if you don’t lose weight, you’ll likely reduce your amount of visceral fat, the deep abdominal fat known for increasing inflammation and negatively impacting the body’s blood sugar-regulating abilities.
At the same time, regular exercise often leads to increases in muscle mass, and bigger muscles take in more glucose, leaving less of it in your bloodstream to elevate your blood sugar.