WOMEN who regularly lift weights or do other resistance exercise may reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a study has found. Researchers from Harvard Medical School followed up 99,316 women aged 36–81 years who were participants in the Nurses’ Health Study and found that those who reported weekly sessions of just 30 minutes of total muscle-strengthening activity had an 18% lower relative risk of type 2 diabetes, compared to their non-weight lifting counterparts.