Exercise can delay the onset of diabetes by boosting the
expression of genes involved in muscle oxidation and glucose
regulation. A new study, published today (March 6) in Cell
Metabolism, suggests that DNA methylation drives some of these
changes, and that they can occur within just a few hours of
exercise, providing a potential mechanism for how exercise
protects the body from metabolic disease. “It’s one of the first
studies that really proves that DNA methylation can affect
things in a very short timeframe,” said Marloes Dekker Nitert,
who studies diabetes epigenetics at Lund University in Sweden
and was not involved in the research. People with type 2
diabetes are less responsive to insulin than healthy
individuals, and thus have difficulties maintaining normal blood
sugar levels. Certain metabolic genes, such as those involved in
glucose transport and mitochondrial regulation, have been shown
to be expressed at lower levels in diabetics, possibly
explaining their decreased insulin responsiveness. “Exerc