The Right Type of Exercise to Control Blood Sugar According to a Study

JAKARTA - Exercising regularly is recommended for body health, including controlling blood sugar levels. However, what type of exercise is most appropriate for controlling blood sugar?

The latest study from a team at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech conducted research on laboratory mice fed a high-fat diet. This is to mimic obesity in humans and insulin resistance, which is closely related to blood sugar and the two main risk factors for type 2 diabetes.

Then the mice were divided into two exercise groups, namely endurance that ran on wheels, and strength that had to lift a weighted door to get food.

Through the study, it was found that weight lifting and running can indeed help control blood sugar. However, weight lifting outperforms in terms of effectiveness in maintaining glucose in the blood.

"Our data show that running and weight lifting reduce fat in the abdomen and under the skin, as well as improve blood glucose maintenance, with better insulin signaling in skeletal muscle," said professor and director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Zhen Yan, quoted from Women's Health, Monday, March 23, 2026.

"Most importantly, weight lifting outperforms running in terms of these health benefits," he added.

The study found that weight-lifting mice not only burned more fat under their skin, but also reduced the more dangerous visceral fat, the type of fat that wraps around internal organs and increases the risk of diabetes.

Weightlifting also proved to be a burden to help the body clean sugar from the blood more effectively than running. This benefit is not only because this sport builds more muscle, but also because it triggers unique changes in metabolism and muscle signals, which help control glucose levels more efficiently.

Then, although this study was conducted on mice, this study also adds more evidence that shows strength training such as weight lifting is powerful for blood sugar control and metabolism.

Not only that, this study also gives good news for people who can't do cardio exercise for a long time. They can choose weight training as a better alternative.