Common Diabetes Drug May Limit Some Exercise Benefits

The findings raise new questions about whether combining medication and exercise always maximizes health benefits.
Common Diabetes Drug May Limit Some Exercise Benefits
agrofruti/Shutterstock
|Updated:
0:00

Using a common diabetes pill while hitting the gym might actually dampen some of the benefits you get from exercise, according to a new study.

Research involving just over 800 patients has found that people who take the diabetes drug metformin while following structured exercise see measurably smaller gains in cardiovascular fitness and blood pressure than those who exercise without the drug—a finding that raises questions about whether pairing these two approaches always delivers optimal results.

George Citroner
George Citroner
Author
George Citroner reports on health and medicine, covering topics that include cancer, infectious diseases, and neurodegenerative conditions. He was awarded the Media Orthopaedic Reporting Excellence (MORE) award in 2020 for a story on osteoporosis risk in men.