For the nearly five million people who have diabetes in the UK, walking will make you live longer and better, and it might even stop the symptoms altogether.
Microscopic glucose molecules policed by insulin in the blood – a vital balance walking helps sustain.
Diabetes is a killer. It can lead to heart disease, stroke and kidney failure. It can also cause complications including nerve damage, blindness, and sores and infections on your feet which can lead to amputations.
It’s common too – 4.9 million people suffer from it and the charity Diabetes UK predicts this number will rise to 5.5 million by 2030. The disease is winning.
But not if walking has anything to do with it. By getting outside and clocking up miles, you’re helping turn the tide on this wretched condition. Not only does it lower your chances of getting type 2 diabetes (the most common kind), it also eases the symptoms of those who already have it to the point where some have no symptoms at all.
‘Walking on its own is a huge determinant of someone’s health.’
In fact, the more science learns, the more we realise just how important walking is. “We always used to look at lifestyle as a whole, but didn’t know for sure what the biggest factor was,” says Neil Gibson, senior physical activity advisor for Diabetes UK. “Now we know it’s actually walking that’s playing a key factor, along with diet and other lifestyle factors too. Walking on its own is a huge determinant of someone’s health.
“In some cases it helps people go into remission because of improvements in their average blood sugar levels – what’s called HbA1c – and that’s the ideal. But there are so many other benefits to walking – it decreases the risk of complications, such as kidney and foot problems, by allowing better blood flow, and it lowers your blood pressure. It ensures people can live better with fewer complications.”
Neil says it’s also an excellent prevention tool and if more people did what #walk1000miles challengers do and walk every day, far fewer of us would suffer from diabetes. And it’s backed up by a 2016 peer review in the World Journal of Diabetes which established that walking at least 30 minutes each day reduces your risk of type 2 diabetes by 50%.
So whether you have diabetes and want to live better, or if you never want type 2 to be any part of your life, you know what to do: summon the secret superpower that is walking.
CASE STUDY
‘I’m off the pills’
For determined Tracey White, pictured right, walking has helped her perform a remarkable U-turn.
‘Back in 1997 I was diagnosed with a cyst on my third brain ventricle which was removed via craniotomy, leaving me with diabetes insipidus (salt diabetes). But it was only when my annual review in March 2021 deemed I needed to take medication for sugar diabetes that the doctors recommended I needed to move more and lose weight.
‘My friend offered to walk with me for two miles a day when lockdown started to help me get more agile and build up my stamina. With my weight reducing, and the doctors seeing that I was determined to improve, they offered me the chance to take part in a diabetes reversal programme –
a year-long plan.
‘The challenge helped keep me focused and walking prevented me snacking through boredom. I also discovered it’s a superb way to get fitter, not expensive and a super way to see your area while widening your social circle.
‘I’ve now reduced my weight by five stone and totally reversed the need to take my medication for diabetes. Walking has got me to this point – now I’m hoping it will help me maintain it.’
IN NUMBERS
4.9m+
In the UK have diabetes – a figure expected to rise to 5.5m by 2030.
10,000
Leg, toe or foot amputations every year caused by diabetes.
700
People die prematurely with diabetes each week.
1 in 6
People in a hospital bed has diabetes (in some hospitals it’s more than a quarter).
10%
Of the NHS’s entire budget is spent on diabetes.
50%
The amount 30 minutes walking a day cuts the risk of type 2 diabetes by.
15 min
How long people with diabetes need to walk each day to cut their risk of death by any cause by 14%.
100%
Of doctors polled say the power of walking as a tool for health is seriously underestimated.
CASE STUDIES
‘I’ve halved my medication’
‘I’ve been a type 2 diabetic for 20 years now, but since I’ve been doing #walk1000miles I’ve been able to halve my diabetes medication. This is due to regular walking having the effect of lowering my blood sugar levels. Fantastic.’ – Nigel Walmsley
‘I’m shedding weight’
‘I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes on the 26th February this year. Shedding extra weight is a big part of the treatment and this challenge is helping me massively. I've gone from around 81kg to 70.3kg, and my goal is 68kg. This site and so many people on it have inspired me to keep going. A huge thank you to everyone.’ – Peter Jackson
‘I’m proof walking works’
‘I have type 2 diabetes, and during the last year I’ve lost 5kg and reduced my small insulin intake by almost 50 percent. Proof, if ever there was proof needed, of the effectiveness of walking.’ – Graeme Lewin
‘I can’t believe it’
‘A year after diagnosis, since doing #walk1000miles I’ve lost weight, brought my diabetes readings down, gone from high blood pressure to normal and I can’t believe how much I look forward to going out walking everyday. The doctors don’t want to see me for a year.’ – Ian Smith
