A common diabetes drug could be sabotaging the health benefits that a patient might expect from a daily walk, a new study says.
Metformin appears to blunt improvements in blood pressure, fitness and blood sugar control that normally come from regular exercise, researchers report in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
This complicates current guidelines that advise patients with high blood sugar to take metformin while engaging in exercise, researchers said. The reasoning: Two proven therapies should deliver better results when combined.
"Most health care providers assume one plus one equals two. The problem is that most evidence shows metformin blunts exercise benefits," lead researcher Steven Malin said in news release. He's a professor of kinesiology and health at Rutgers University-New Brunswick in New Jersey.
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