Walk away from diabetes

In 1910, 71-year-old Edward Payson Weston walked 3,100 miles from California to New York City in 77 days and was greeted by a half a million fans when he reached his goal. Well, if your goal is to avoid developing Type 2 diabetes, you can do it with a consistent dedication to walking — and it doesn’t have to be anywhere near that distance!

A study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism looked at data from more than 5,600 people with a median age of 51 and found that folks who get in 10,700 steps a day (a bit more than five miles) slashed their risk of Type 2 diabetes by 44% when compared to folks getting only 6,000 steps daily. And think how much more it reduces the risk for most U.S. adults, who only get 3,000 to 4,000 steps daily, according to the Mayo Clinic.

You’re at risk for Type 2 diabetes if you’re overweight, physically active less than three times a week, have had gestational diabetes, have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, or have prediabetes (a fasting blood sugar reading of 100 to 125 mg/dL).

Walking 5-plus miles can take 90-120 minutes or more. To fit it into your schedule, you might want to break it into smaller segments — 20 minutes before work, 30 minutes at lunchtime, and a 40-60 minute walk before or after dinner, outside or on a treadmill. Find a routine that works for you — then walk away from diabetes and its complications, such as amputations, kidney failure and dementia.

Health pioneer Michael Roizen, M.D., is chief wellness officer emeritus at the Cleveland Clinic and author of four No. 1 New York Times bestsellers. His next book is “The Great Age Reboot: Cracking the Longevity Code for a Younger Tomorrow.” Do you have a topic Dr. Mike should cover in a future column? If so, please email questions@ GreatAgeReboot.com.