Why your 10,000 steps and no sugar in tea might not be saving you 

Experts warn that walking and cutting sugar alone are insufficient for controlling diabetes and hypertension. They emphasize strength training, higher protein intake, and reducing refined carbohydrates to improve metabolism and manage insulin resistance effectively

Hyderabad: You hit your 10,000 steps every morning. You have already sacrificed sugar in your tea. Lately, you also have started taking an active part in household chores, counting it as cardio.  And yet, you are shocked when your latest blood work indicates that your diabetes and hypertension remain uncontrolled.

Many individuals follow an active lifestyle and believe that they are headed in the right direction. However, the fact is that walking and quitting sugar are often simply not enough.

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So what more can be done to bring these metabolic disorders under control?

“We come across such patients on a daily basis. While walking is a great baseline and household chores are better than sedentary behaviour, neither is a substitute for strength training,” says noted public health specialist from Hyderabad, Dr Sudhir Kumar.

Recently on X, the senior neurologist from Hyderabad posted “Patients often think that by cutting out ‘sweets’, they have fixed their diet. Meanwhile, their plates are still 80 percent carbohydrates (rice, rotis, poha) and nearly no protein”.

Dr Sudhir highlighted a universal truth. Mere walking without focusing on strength training (at least twice a week) while consuming refined carbohydrates will rarely yield the desired health results.

“After age 30, you lose 3 to 8 percent of muscle mass per decade (Sarcopenia). Muscles are body’s primary ‘glucose sink’. While walking burns a few calories, strength training builds the ‘engine’ that burns glucose even while you sleep. If you are not lifting weights or doing resistance training at least twice a week, your insulin resistance will likely persist, regardless of your step count,” Dr Sudhir explains.

On the issue of sugar, he urges individuals to prioritize protein.  “Refined carbohydrates (even without added sugar) spike insulin similarly to sugar. A protein-deficient diet leads to muscle loss and increased hunger. Most Indian diets are high-carb, low-protein disasters. Cutting sugar but eating 4 rotis or a mountain of rice is just trading one glucose spike for another,” he says.

Dr Sudhir has urged people to prioritize 1.2 gm to 1.5gm of protein per kilogram of body weight, as it helps to hit protein goals and reduce the craving for carbs.

FACT SHEET

• Strength training improves cognitive brain function, reduces systemic inflammation
• Strength training protects against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s
• Add two sessions of resistance training via bodyweights, bands or weights
• Household work should be recognised as an activity and not as an exercise

Ideal diet: (NIN guidelines)

• Use combination of whole grains of cereals, pulse and millets
• Prefer fresh and variety of locally available vegetables
• Add milk/eggs and meat
• Choose nutrient rich foods such as pulses (lentils, beans, peas)
• Sugar should be less than 5 percent of total energy per day for adults
• No added sugar for children less than 2 years