The benefits of exercise for people with diabetes or other illnesses cannot be overstated. Exercise helps control weight, lowers blood pressure, lowers harmful LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, increases healthy HDL cholesterol, strengthens muscles and bones, reduces anxiety, and improves overall health. People with diabetes have additional benefits. Exercise lowers blood sugar, increases the body's sensitivity to insulin, and counteracts insulin resistance.

 Many studies highlight these and other benefits of exercise. Some key points of these findings are:

•  Exercise reduced HbA1c levels by 0.7 percent in people from different ethnic diabetes groups who took different medications and followed different diets. This improvement happened even though I wasn't losing weight.
• Any form of aerobics, strength training, or both (combined exercise) equally reduced HbA1c levels in diabetics.
• Both strength training and aerobic exercise helped reduce insulin resistance in previously sedentary older people with abdominal obesity at risk for diabetes. The combination of the two types of exercise has proven to be more beneficial than a single exercise.
• People with diabetes who walked more than two hours a week were less likely to die of heart disease than those who tended to sit, and those who exercised three to four hours a week further reduced their risk.
• Women with diabetes who did moderate-intensity (including walking) or vigorous exercise for more than 4 hours per week had a 40% lower risk of developing heart disease than women who did not exercise. These benefits persisted even after the researchers corrected for confounding factors such as body mass index, smoking, and other risk factors for heart disease.

In general, the best time to exercise is 1-3 hours after a meal when blood sugar levels are high. When using insulin, it is important to test your blood sugar before exercising. If the pre-workout level is below 100 mg/dL, fruit and light meals can prevent hypoglycemia. New readings after 30 minutes will show if your blood sugar is stable. It is also recommended to check your blood sugar level, especially after intense training and activities. If you are taking insulin, your risk of developing hypoglycemia may be highest 6-12 hours after exercise. Experts also warn you not to exercise if your blood sugar is too high (over 250). This is because exercising can cause your blood sugar to rise even higher.