(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study shows in as little as two days of physical inactivity, the body's efficient use of insulin may decrease, which can potentially lead to diabetes and other related diseases.

Researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia conducted a study in rats and found insulin sensitivity decreased the longer the rats stayed inactive. When the rats stopped running for two days after a period of running for three weeks, the amount of sugar taken into the muscle in response to insulin decreased by about one-third.

Researchers say, "The less efficient your insulin is, the greater risk you have of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and hypertension. Insulin works by taking glucose, or blood sugar, out of the blood stream and into the muscle to be used for energy."

They add, "Everyone is looking at the benefits of exercise, but we are looking at the consequences of stopping that exercise. People already know that exercise is good for them. This shows that, within a very short time frame of inactivity, the insulin does not work as well and might have negative effects."

Past studies have indicated increases in human blood sugar and insulin as early as five days, but this new study suggests changes could be occurring even earlier.