Leisure-time physical activity at weekends and the risk of Type 2 diabetes mellitus in Japanese men: the Osaka Health Survey.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate association between leisure-time physical activity at weekends and the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM).


METHODS
Prospective examination of 6,013 Japanese men aged 35-60 years who were free of DM, impaired fasting glycaemia, or hypertension at study entry. Type 2 DM was defined by a fasting plasma glucose level > or = 7.0 mmol/l or a 2-h post-load plasma glucose level > or =11.1 mmol/l. Data on physical activity obtained from questionnaires consisted of overall leisure-time physical activity weekly and leisure-time physical activity at weekends.


RESULTS
During the 59,966 person-years follow-up, 444 cases developed Type 2 DM. Regular physical exercise at least once a week was associated with a reduced risk of Type 2 DM. After adjustments for age, body mass index, daily alcohol consumption, smoking habits, blood pressure levels and a parental history of Type 2 DM, men who engaged in regular physical exercise at least once a week had a relative risk of Type 2 DM of 0.75 (95% CI, 0.61-0.93) compared with men engaging in exercise less often. Even vigorous activity only once a week at weekends was associated with a reduced risk of Type 2 DM. Men who engaged in vigorous activity at least once a week at weekends had a multiple-adjusted relative risk of Type 2 DM of 0.55 (95% CI, 0.35-0.88) compared with sedentary men.


CONCLUSIONS
Regular physical exercise at least once a week and vigorous activity even only once a week at weekends are associated with a decreased risk of Type 2 DM.
Okada
K
K
Medical Center for Employees' Health, Osaka Gas Co. Ltd, Japan.
Hayashi
T
T
Tsumura
K
K
Suematsu
C
C
Endo
G
G
Fujii
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015444:Exercise; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors
D001786:Blood Glucose