Nov 10, 2025 11:11 PM
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/scien...60451.html
INTRO: A widely prescribed diabetes drug may be blunting the beneficial effects of exercise in patients, a new study suggests.
More than 450 million people across the world suffer from type 2 diabetes – with that number rising by the year – and treatment often hinges on lifestyle changes combined with medication.
For nearly half a century now, doctors have prescribed metformin and recommended daily physical activity to diabetes patients. The reasoning is the two proven therapies deliver better results together.
Metformin reduces blood glucose levels by inhibiting the liver’s glucose production and by helping cells use their own insulin more effectively. Now, however, researchers say metformin may sabotage the beneficial effects of exercise.
“Most health care providers assume one plus one equals two,” Rutgers University kinesiologist Steven Malin, an author of the new study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, said. “The problem is that most evidence shows metformin blunts exercise benefits.” (MORE - details)
INTRO: A widely prescribed diabetes drug may be blunting the beneficial effects of exercise in patients, a new study suggests.
More than 450 million people across the world suffer from type 2 diabetes – with that number rising by the year – and treatment often hinges on lifestyle changes combined with medication.
For nearly half a century now, doctors have prescribed metformin and recommended daily physical activity to diabetes patients. The reasoning is the two proven therapies deliver better results together.
Metformin reduces blood glucose levels by inhibiting the liver’s glucose production and by helping cells use their own insulin more effectively. Now, however, researchers say metformin may sabotage the beneficial effects of exercise.
“Most health care providers assume one plus one equals two,” Rutgers University kinesiologist Steven Malin, an author of the new study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, said. “The problem is that most evidence shows metformin blunts exercise benefits.” (MORE - details)