Hardly any studies compare drugs to exercise, or drugs to diet, or drugs to diet and exercise on health outcomes, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, a very interesting and important study was published in the BMJ in October. The New York Times Well blog describes it very well:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/11/exercise-as-potent-medicine/?nl=health&emc=edit_hh_20131217
Here are some quotes from the article:
"The results consistently showed that drugs and exercise produced almost exactly the same results. People with heart disease, for instance, who exercised but did not use commonly prescribed medications, including statins, angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors or antiplatelet drugs, had the same risk of dying from — or surviving — heart disease as patients taking those drugs. Similarly, people with diabetes who exercised had the same relative risk of dying from the condition as those taking the most commonly prescribed drugs."
"On the other hand, people who once had suffered a stroke had significantly less risk of dying from that condition if they exercised than if they used medications — although the study authors note that stroke patients who can exercise may have been unusually healthy to start with."
"Only in chronic heart failure were drugs noticeably more effective than exercise. Diuretics staved off mortality better than did exercise."
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