Diabetics get the most benefit when they exercise more than 150 minutes per week in a supervised fitness or exercise program tailored to their needs, an analysis released on May 03 suggests.
The findings, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggest it may be time for policymakers to consider reimbursing patients for the cost of health club memberships and sessions with a personal trainer as a way to help control diabetes.
Diabetes and prediabetes will account for an estimated 10 percent of total health care spending by the end of the decade at an annual cost of almost $500 billion - up from an estimated $194 billion this year, according to a report by health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc.
In October, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention projected that up to a third of US adults could have diabetes by 2050 if Americans continue to gain weight and avoid exercise.
"Cost analyses have shown that use of a health plan-sponsored health club benefit by the general older population and by older adults with diabetes was associated with slower increases in total healthcare costs over two years," Dr Marco Pahor of the University of Florida wrote in an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association.