I reversed my diabetes in six months – with exercise At 58, sports scientist Michael Gleeson received a shock diagnosis. He explains how simple lifestyle tweaks helped him get back to health 14 June 2021 • 5:00am Professor Michael Gleeson was not overweight and only discovered he had diabetes during a routine check up Credit: Andrew Fox for The Telegraph Throughout most of my adult life, I managed to maintain a trim figure. Up until my late 40s, I weighed around 65kg, which is pretty consistent with what I weighed when I was 21. But then, over the next 10 years I began to pile on a few pounds, mostly around my abdomen; it wasn’t noticeable on my chest, arms, legs or face. This is typical of middle-aged spread in men, and why so many develop a ‘beer belly’ when they reach a certain age.