Adults who consistently met both aerobic and muscle-strengthening guidelines were 50 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who met neither guideline, according to nine-year findings from the University of Queensland's HABITAT cohort published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport in 2026.
Neither type of exercise on its own delivered the same protection. The combined group also showed a 24 percent lower risk of hypertension and a 23 percent lower risk of cancer compared with adults who met neither guideline, the researchers reported.
The study, led by Dr. Gregore Mielke and PhD candidate Anh Tung Pham, followed 8,072 Brisbane residents aged 40 to 64 through five surveys between 2007 and 2016. It is observational, meaning it can show a strong association but cannot prove the exercise pattern itself caused the lower risk.
What "meeting both guidelines" actually means
The Australian targets tracked in the study mirror the U.S. recommendation that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week, such as brisk walking or cycling, plus muscle-strengthening work on two or more days that targets all the major muscle groups, per the CDC.
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Muscle-strengthening activity does not require a gym. Weight lifting counts, and so do resistance bands and bodyweight moves like push-ups, sit-ups, squats and lunges, the University of Queensland notes.
Only about a quarter of the cohort actually cleared both bars. Roughly half met the aerobic target, and around 30 percent met neither guideline.
Why the combination may matter
Aerobic training improves how the heart and blood vessels handle sugar and pressure, while strength work builds and preserves muscle tissue that soaks up glucose from the bloodstream. Combining the two may address both sides of metabolic health, which could help explain why the paired approach outperformed either type alone in this cohort.
"Of those who did both types of exercise, we found they had a 23 per cent reduction in cancer, a 24 per cent reduction in hypertension and a 50 per cent reduction in type 2 diabetes," Mielke, a behavioral epidemiologist at UQ's School of Public Health, told Medical Xpress.
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The finding lands against a heavy backdrop. About 38.1 million American adults were living with diabetes as of the most recent NIDDK figures, and type 2 accounts for the large majority of those cases.
A practical weekly template
Adults who want to hit both guidelines could aim for around 30 minutes of brisk walking, cycling or swimming on five days a week and add two shorter strength sessions covering the legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms. Working each exercise to the point where another repetition would be hard, for 8 to 12 reps, counts as one set, the CDC advises.
Newcomers do not need to overhaul their week overnight. Gentler on-ramps like starting strength training after 40 can help build the habit while lowering injury risk. People with existing conditions, joint problems or medication regimens should talk with a doctor before ramping up training intensity.
Because the HABITAT results are observational, they cannot rule out that people who lift and do cardio also eat, sleep and live differently. Still, the size of the diabetes gap between combined exercisers and the least active group is striking, and it aligns with earlier work showing that lifestyle changes can cut diabetes risk substantially.
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This article is made and published by Jesper Bengtson, who may have used AI in the preparation.