April - June 2021, Volume 17, Issue 2

Zhang QQ, Ding YJ, Zhang JJ, Wang L

Effects of Acute Exercise with Different Intensities on Glycemic Control in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Acta Endo (Buc) 2021, 17 (2): 212-218
doi: 10.4183/aeb.2021.212

Objective. Exercise intensity is one of the most important factors that determines the effects of exercise; however, there is little known about the acute glycemic control of different exercise intensities on patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). Here we aimed at exploring the influence of a single bout of exercise with different intensities on blood glucose levels in T2DM patients. Methods. Fifteen subjects (54.7 ± 5.8 years old) participated in a session of walking (WG), jogging (JG), or sedentary control (CG) in a randomized order on three different days. Distances in both WG and JG were set as 2 Km with a speed set as 4~4.5 Km/h for walking and 5~6 Km/h for jogging based on pretrial test. Blood glucose levels at fasting (~6:30am), pre-exercise (~8:30am), post-exercise (~9am), 11am and 4pm were detected. Results. Walking and jogging reached approximately moderate and high intensity based on the immediate post-exercise heart rate and RPE scores. Blood glucose levels at fasting, pre-exercise and 4pm were not substantially different among all groups (p > 0.05). JG had a significantly lower post-exercise blood glucose level (p < 0.05) when compared with CG and WG. The blood glucose level at 11am was notably lower in WG and JG than in CG (p < 0.05). Conclusions. Both a single bout of jogging and walking can lower postprandial blood glucose levels in T2DM patients. When matched for exercise distance, jogging represents a more effective strategy to immediately lower postprandial glucose levels than walking.

Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, type 2, exercise, acute, exercise intensity, blood glucose.

Correspondence: Li Wang, School of Nursing, Medical College, Soochow University, No.1 Shizi Street, Suzhou 215006, China, E-mail: li-wang-1@suda.edu.cn. Qianqian Zhang and Yujie Ding contributed equally to this work.