Physical activity is a cornerstone to better management of diabetes. It can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes, and it’s critical in controlling blood glucose levels and improving health.
In the Physical Activity and Diabetes Laboratory (PADL) our goal is to understand the physiological changes that occur in the body and to devise effective physical activity and behaviour modification strategies that stop the disease, or lessen its impacts on the quality of life for those with the disease.
By 2020, the Canadian Diabetes Association estimates that 3.7 million Canadians will have the disease. At present Canada spends 3.5 per cent of its public health care budget on treating diabetes. By 2007, one in 20 Albertans had the disease and the numbers continue to climb.
The message is clear: we urgently need to shift the diabetes tide and it’s why the PADL is an important step forward in the fight to end the diabetes scourge.