Physical Activity and Type 2 Diabetes: Therapeutic Effects and Mechanisms of Action

Over the past 50 years, there has been a dramatic increase in the prevalence of interrelated metabolic disease states, including obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. In modern Western nations, the population-based prevalence of insulin resistance is approaching 20%, and type 2 diabetes is now the most common endocrine disorder in adults. No longer a disease reserved for the aging population, type 2 diabetes is also on the rise in adolescents. Approximately 30% of all newly diagnosed cases (between 1982 and 1994 in the United States alone) are among people 10 to 19 years of age. For those engaged in a struggle against this modern-day epidemic, Physical Activity and Type 2 Diabetes provides cutting-edge research to energize current efforts in diabetes prevention, management, and treatment. The most in-depth and up-to-date book on the topic, Physical Activity and Type 2 Diabetes presents a series of independent but related chapters authored by the foremost researchers of insulin resistance examining topics such as these: -Physical inactivity as a primary cause for the rising incidence of insulin resistance -The emergence of an “exercise-deficient” phenotype -The effects of exercise training on selected aspects of substrate metabolism -The role of endurance and resistance training programs for the prevention and treatment of insulin resistance -The identification of new molecular targets and pathways useful for the treatment of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Physical Activity and Type 2 Diabetes provides a four-part, in-depth examination of the relational nature of diabetes and physical activity. Part I begins with a description of the scope and extent of the “diabesity” epidemic. The risk factors for diabetes, the underlying causes of the epidemic, and its potential consequences are outlined as well as the role of physical inactivity in the pathogenesis of diabetes and plans for preventive exercise biology. Part II continues with an examination of some of the major defects of substrate metabolism in individuals with insulin resistance, while in part III the authors discuss the impact of exercise interventions in the prevention, management, and treatment of type 2 diabetes. Part IV presents recent developments in molecular and cellular biology that may provide treatment therapies for the prevention of type 2 diabetes. Based on extensive research, Physical Activity and Type 2 Diabetes presents a wealth of information to assist the biomedical and research community in creating prescriptive therapeutic tools for type 2 diabetes intervention—and offers hope for the alleviation of the global epidemic of insulin resistance.