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Diabetes is one of the most common diseases of the 21st century in the western world, but preventing or treating it is far from simple.

Babies born with a pancreas that does not release insulin have Type 1 diabetes and most of them will have to take insulin for the rest of their lives.

Type 2 diabetes occurs because at some stage later in life, some people's bodies produce too much insulin. They can usually manage their diabetes with lifestyle changes, including exercise and diet.

Dr Louise Naylor at the School of Sport Science Exercise and Health is trialling adolescents with Type 2 diabetes to see if regular exercise has an effect on their insulin sensitivity, and thus their health.

"We are not exactly sure how children get Type 2 diabetes," Dr Nay lor said. "Sometimes it's due to an unhealthy lifestyle, and sometimes there are genetic factors."

She and her team train groups of teenagers three times a week for 12 weeks, measuring the effects of the exercise and comparing the results with children who are obese but not diabetic, and other children, who are neither.

Her research project, Can exercise training improve health in adolescents with Type 2 diabetes, is funded by the Bright Spark Foundation, which supports the work of promising young researchers working in the areas of children's health.

"The aim of the program is to increase muscle mass, since muscle uses glucose and therefore improves their diabetes," she said.

The teenagers are referred by Princess Margaret Hospital and Dr Naylor is running three 12-week trials.

Published in UWA News , 19 March 2012