New York: A new study has found that indulging in a less strenuous form of exercise known as whole-body vibration could help combat obesity and diabetes.
Whole-body vibration consists of a person sitting, standing or lying on a machine with a vibrating platform and could also benefit people who find it difficult to exercise.
Studies have showed that when the machine vibrates, it transmits energy to the body, and muscles contract and relax multiple times during each second.
The lead author Meghan E. McGee-Lawrence from Augusta University in Georgia, US said, "The study shows that whole-body vibration may be just as effective as exercise at combatting some of the consequences of obesity and diabetes".
Lawrence added, the method also increased bone formation, suggesting longer-term treatments could hold promise for preventing bone loss as well.
For the study, the team examined two groups of five-week-old male mice who were assigned to sedentary, whole-body vibration or treadmill exercise conditions.
One group consisted of normal mice, while the other group was genetically unresponsive to the hormone leptin -- responsible for promoting feelings of fullness after eating.
The results suggest that whole-body vibration may be a useful supplemental therapy to combat metabolic dysfunction in individuals with morbid obesity.
The findings was published in the Endocrine Society's journal Endocrinology.
(With IANS inputs)
