Prediabetes is a condition where the blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough for it to fall in the diagnosis list for type 2 diabetes. For many people it is like a warning sign that without doing any major changes to your lifestyle, you would be at the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, stroke or even heart disease. On the other hand, prediabetes usually doesn’t come with any symptoms but only a blood test can confirm that there is prediabetes. The good news is that because it is only a warning sign, in many cases it can be reversed. This can happen through the right lifestyle changes, diet control and most importantly, exercise.

New study has confirmed that just 150 minutes of exercise per week can significantly reverse prediabetes. This study, published in the Cardiovascular Diabetology - Endocrinology Reports brings encouraging news: just 150 minutes of exercise per week can significantly help in reversing prediabetes and restore normal blood sugar levels.

For prediabetes, fasting blood glucose levels are between 100 and 125 mg/dL and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is between 5.7% and 6.4%.

Oral glucose tolerance test results between 140 and 199 mg/dL after a glucose load.

If prediabetes is left unchecked, it can often progress and become type 2 diabetes quickly. This is a chronic (mostly irreversible) disease that can cause kidney failure, heart diseases, nerve damage and other serious complications.

The study mentioned here analyzed data from Columbian adults enrolled between 2019 and 2023 in a cardiovascular program. These participants began with a median HbA1c of 5.9% (this indicates borderline blood sugar control). The researchers found that those who exercised for more than 150 minutes in a week (any type of physical activity) were four times more likely to reverse prediabetes. For these individuals glucose levels returned to normal as compared to others who were not as active.