MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital received a $500,000 grant from the Children’s Foundation of Memphis (CFOM) to fund a study that seeks to determine if exercise can be used to prevent prediabetes from developing to type 2 diabetes.
Clinical exercise physiologist at Le Bonheur, Webb Smith, PhD, is set to lead the study.
“Memphis and the Mid-South have some of the highest rates of diabetes in the United States, earning the title ‘diabetes belt,’” said Smith. “In the U.S., one in five adolescents meet the criteria for prediabetes and physical inactivity is a significant contributor to the increased rates of prediabetes and obesity.”
According to CFOM, there has been some research done that shows that physical activity slows the progression of diabetes, but physical activity levels have not been closely looked at in past research studies.
Ahlee Kim, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology at UTHSC and Amit Lahoti, MBBS, MD, pediatric endocrinologist at Le Bonheur will also help conduct the study.
